Camp Hope
by emerl01
Summary: Luc has returned to work as an army medic and gets a few surprises when he meets his new colleagues in Kabul.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all, Just another idea I had for a Leddie fanfic, hope you like it. I've had an idea about Leddie reuniting in a foreign place for a while. Its set after Luc leaves holby, about a year after, and has returned to work for the army.

Chapter 1:

The helicopter landed on the sandy soil and blew up a large amount of sand into the air. There wasnt any helipad marked out as such just a fenced off area among army tents strewn hear and there. Beyond there were more tents set out in rows. Luc got out of the helicopter when it had stopped and was relieved to be on solid ground. He had never liked helicopters but had to put up with them as part of the job now. Being an army medical officer or MO for short required the odd trip by helicpoter unfortunately. He was glad to finally get to Kabul, the flight from the U.K. had been a long one and he was tired now. All he wanted to do now was sleep for a few hours. He was met by Private Nicholson as he got off the helicopter. "Dr Hemingway? Can you please follow me quickly? They want to clear the helipad so that another 'copter can land. There has been an attack and some of our wounded are on the way" said Nicholson.  
"Yes private" replied Luc. He followed the man over to the nearest tent. "My name is private Nicholson and I'll be your guide around the camp for the next few days, until you get your bearings" he explained while shaking Luc's hand. Luc turned around to see another helicopter land and a group of medics run towards it. They carried out 3 injured soldiers on stretchers and rushed them towards a large tent not far from where Luc was standing. "Here private, take my bags. They need my help" Luc said as he threw his rucksack at Nicholson and ran into the hospital tent after the injured soldiers.  
"I need some help over here" shouted a female nurse dressed in army fatigues. Luc ran over in the direction of the voice and immediately started assessing the injured soldier's injuries. He had wounds to the stomach, legs, arms and face. The stomach wound was gaping and gushing blood.

"We need some suction here, I need to find the source of this bleeding" said Luc as he began working on the soldier. The nurse beside him began suctioning up the blood around the wound. Luc noticed familiar tatoos on her arm as she worked out of the corner of his eye but was too busy trying to keep the soldier alive for it to register with him. "I've found the source, clamp please" said Luc.

"Clamp" the nurse said as she handed it to him. The voice was familiar he thought but he was too busy working on the soldier to look up from what he was doing. It was about 20 mins later before he had the soldier stitched up and stabilised enough to look up from the soldiers body and see what and who was standing around him. He turned his head to look at the nurse standing beside him. "Welcome to camp Kabul" she said.

"It can't be, I'm dreaming aren't I?" he said.

"If you are, I wouldn't call this a dream, a nightmare maybe" she replied with a smile.

"Eddie!" he exclaimed but wasnt sure he was correct. Her skin was slightly darker and her hair was darker brown and alot longer than the last time he had seen her.

"That's Medical Support Officer McKee to you" she corrected still smiling and saluted Luc as being an MO he was a higher rank than her.

"What are you doing here?" Luc asked fighting off the urge to grab her and hug her.

"The same as you I guess, looking after her Majesty's finest soldiers" she replied.

"Karen, can you keep an eye on the patient? I'm going to show MO Hemingway here to his quarters as he seems to have lost his tour guide and isnt supposed to be on duty yet" she said to her fellow nurse.

Luc followed Eddie over to the nearby sinks to clean up with a million questions swirling around in his head. "How long?" he asked.  
"I joined up about 6 months ago now but have only been in Kabul for the last two" she explained. "Why?" he asked. "There were a number of reasons but I wanted to see a bit of the world and do something rewarding at the same time" she said. "Besides, you know me, I always love being in the thick of all the action" she continued. They finished off cleaning themselves up and walked out of the hospital tent out into the bright sunlight.

"The mess tents are over there, there's food available 24 hrs a day, hot food during the day and sandwiches etc at night" she said pointing at tents over to their right.

"All of the medical staff quarters are at the back of the hospital, you are sharing with 2 other male doctors. Your tent is just 2 down from mine" she continued as they walked by the side of the hospital towards the smaller tents behind it.

Eddie stopped outside the second smaller tent in the row. "Knock, knock" she said before pulling up the door and entering the tent. "Oh, Hi Larry, this is our new MO Luc Hemingway" she said to the man lying on one of the beds inside. He had been reading a medical book and put it down to shake Luc's hand.

"Dr. Larry Duke, nice to meet you" he said continuing to shake Luc's hand. "So I hear you know our beloved nurse Eddie from her civilian days" Larry continued.

"Yes I do" replied Luc blushing slightly. He wondered how much Eddie at told them about their past and was surprised as she seemed to have known he would be coming to the base.

"Private Nicholson left your bags here for you. He put them on your bed over there" said Larry pointing to the bed at the other end of the tent.

"Larry, can you show Luc the showers etc?" she asked. "I'll have to get back to the hospital as I'm still on duty" she said. "I'll come and get you when my shift is over in about 5 hours" Eddie said turning to Luc. "We can catch up properly then" she continued. "Perfect, I need a few hours sleep anyway" replied Luc giving her a tired smile.

"See you later then" she replied with a big smile and left the tent.

"She's some woman isnt she?" said Larry. "She's been in great form the last few days, ever since she found out you would be working with us in fact" continued Larry. "That's funny, we used to fight like cats and dogs when we first met" replied Luc cryptically.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, here's a little more.

Chapter 2:

Eddie finished her shift and went back to her quarters to get herself cleaned up. She was nervous with excitement and yet dreading her meeting with Luc later that day. What if he's with someone else? What if he doesn't care about me anymore? She tried to shake these questions out of her head. At least she could still have him as her friend, right, she said to herself. She got dressed into a long straight skirt down to her ankles, ankle boots, and a t-shirt. She was glad to get out of the army uniform for a few hours. She fixed up her hair and left for Luc's tent.

She arrived at the tent door, "knock, knock" she said.

"Come in" shouted Luc.

She walked in to find Luc by himself in the tent dressed in just a towel from the waist down, his hair was wet. "Sorry, I must be a bit early, do you want me to come back in a few minutes" she said blushing.

"Dont be silly, its nothing you haven't seen before" he said with a cheeky grin. She was glad, she stood there admiring his body, he still looked as good as when they had been together. Luc got dressed quickly putting on a pair of combat trousers and a t-shirt.

"Did you manage to get some sleep?" she asked.

"Yes, a couple of hours. Although these beds arent very comfortable. I didnt think there could be a bed in the world less comfortable than my campervan bunk but I think its that one!" he exclaimed.

Eddie started giggling, remembering the second night they had slept together in that campervan bunk and how uncomfortable they had been. Luc looked at her and instantly knew what she was laughing at. A big smile came over his face.

"Dont say that, we had some very memorable nights in the bunk" Eddie said smiling. "I'll let you into a little secret, if you give John in the stores department 40 pounds he'll give you an extra matress for your bed, it's worth every penny, trust me" she continued.

By this time Luc was fully dressed. He walked up to Eddie and stood close to her, looking her up and down.

"You look beautiful. I think it's the first time I've ever seen you in a skirt, I like it!" he said smiling down at her.

Eddie blushed again "Thanks. It's a bit too warm out here to wear trousers the whole time that's all" she replied.

"You know, we never did say a proper hello earlier" he said as he leaned closer and kissed her on the cheek. Eddie kissed him back on the cheek and then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as she could. She buried her face in his chest and whispered "I missed you so much". Luc responded by squeezing her tight, kissing her on the top of her head and whispering back "I missed you too".

They stood there for a few minutes enjoying just holding each other. There was a loud rumbling noise from the direction of Eddie's stomach and she looked up at Luc red faced. "Sorry, I think that's my stomach. Can we go eat?" she asked. "Sure, lets go, I'm starving too" he replied, reluctantly letting her go. They left the tent, walking out into the evening sunshine and made their way to the mess hall.


	3. Chapter 3

I hope you are all enjoying this.

Chapter 3:

Luc and Eddie got to the mess hall before they stopped serving the hot food for the day. They grabbed a tray each and picked out their drinks. They joined the queue for the hot food counter. Eventually it was their turn to get served.

"Hello Billy-boy, what's on the menu today?" Eddie asked the server behind the counter.

"Whatever you want my love!" replied Billy suggestively.

Eddie laughed. "Behave yourself Billy or I wont be so gentle the next time you have to get your immunisations updated!" replied Eddie with a smile.

"I was only teasing my darling!" replied Billy with a hurt look on his face.

"Can I have the roast beef, gravy, carrotts and mash?" replied Eddie. "Oh and by the way, this is my good friend Luc, you'd better be nice to him or else!" she threatened.

"Nothing but the best for Luc then" retorted Billy as he dished out Eddie's dinner.

"Good. I'll be watching you" replied Eddie laughing.

"You've just made my day!" replied Billy with a big grin.

"Can I get the same as Eddie?" Luc asked. He was highly amused at what had been going on. Luc followed behind Eddie and they went to find a table. The found an empty one at the back of the tent, sitting down opposite each other.

"What was all that about?" asked Luc.

"Oh, that's just Billy, he's from Yorkshire too. He's not a big fan of needles but I managed to give him his injections so that he didnt feel them. He told me he loved me afterwards and that he wants to marry me!" she laughed.

"Ok" replied Luc feeling slightly jealous.

"Dont worry, its not going to happen. He has a wife and 3 children whom he adores at home. He's always showing me the latest pictures he gets of them. His wife sends a new photo to him each week." replied Eddie.

"That's sweet" replied Luc relieved.

"I suppose its their way of keeping the relationship going long-distance" Eddie replied matter of factly.

"How's your dinner?" she asked Luc changing the subject.

"Really nice. Hitting the spot" he replied.

"We're lucky here, the food is really good, too good in fact. I think I've put on half a stone since I got here. If I keep that up, I'll end up 40 stone and will never get myself another boyfriend" she replied mockingly.

"So you dont have one at the moment then?" asked Luc.

"No, you were my last" she replied shyly.

"How about you?" she asked.

"oh, I'm married with 10 kids" he replied seriously.

"What!" she exclaimed.

A massive smile appeared on Luc's face. "Only kidding! You were my last too" he replied grinning. Eddie gave him a smack on the arm. She felt relieved and happier in herself. She had finished her dinner but was still hungry.

"I'm going to get some ice-cream, want some?" she asked.

"What flavours do they have?" asked Luc.

"Strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla" she recited.

"Sounds like you know that off by heart! Surprise me" he said laughing.

"ok, back in a few minutes" she replied.

She walked off in search of the ice-cream. Luc watched her all the way. If she has put on weight, it looks really good on her he thought. He watched as she chatted to various people she met at the food counter, smiling and joking with them as she went. He was jealous of how she could do that and wondered why he couldn't be like that instead of being so closed off like he was. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didnt notice her arrive back until she sat down.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked.

"Yes, fine. Just wondering if there's anyone on this base you dont know" he replied smiling.

"Of course I dont know everyone, there's about 500 soldiers and 300 other staff here. But I know all the important ones" she smiled.

Luc looked down at the ice-cream. "A little bit of all 3 flavours, good thinking batman!" he said and began tucking into it.

"So tell me, what happened to you after you left Holby?" he asked. He'd been wondering this since they had first been reunited.

"Well, after the treatment finished I stayed in Leeds for a little while but wasnt having much luck getting a job. A friend from nursing college who was working in Dublin told me about a job there so I ended up moving there for a while. Liam wasnt too impressed as he thought I'd go back on the drink again and we fell out for a while. He only got in contact again about 6 months later when Mum got really sick. I went back to Leeds and nursed mum until she passed away about 8 months ago" she said sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that" Luc said grabbing her hand to comfort her.

"It's ok, she had liver cancer and she went quickly and painlessly enough in the end thankfully. We made up before she died so we parted on good terms" she said wiping away a few tears.

Luc stroked her cheek. "Sorry, it still gets me upset sometimes, all the years that we wasted fighting with each other" she went on.

"At least you got to make up, that's something" he said stroking her cheek again. At this point, Luc's vision went dark as two hands were covering his eyes.

"Guess who?" a male voice said.

"What's going on?" Luc asked annoyed. He pulled the hands away from his eyes and turned to his side to see Liam sitting beside him dressed in a soldier's uniform.

"Alright sis? Are you ok?" Liam asked Eddie.

"No, not really" she replied "I was just telling Luc about mum" she continued annoyed at the interruption.  
"Oh, I'm really sorry sis" he said in a heartfelt tone.

"Sorry to ask a stupid question, but what's he doing here?" Luc asked Eddie.

"Liam decided to join the army just after mum died and he's stationed here now" Eddie replied.

"But I thought there was some rule about siblings not being allowed at the same base?" Luc asked.

"It doesnt apply to us because we are in different regiments and I'm not in combat" replied Eddie.

"Oh, ok" replied Luc. "How are you getting on?" Luc asked Liam.

"I'd be better if I hadnt been so near that attack today. I was only a few landrovers behind the one that was blown up" he explained. "How are the injured?" he asked Eddie.

"They're all stable, they'll be transported to Germany for more treatment the day after tomorrow if they're well enough" replied Eddie.

"What happened today?" asked Luc.

"We were going off in convoy to swap over the guards around the green zone in town when the first landrover was blown up by a rocket-propelled grenade we think. It didnt hit full on and the lads inside were partially protected by the landrover's bulletproofing, otherwise they would all have been killed instantly. They were lucky" explained Liam.  
"Yeah, lucky" Luc murmured. "Do these type of attacks happen often?" asked Luc.

"Unfortunately, they are getting more common lately" replied Liam. Luc and Eddie both looked worried.

"Dont worry about me, its takes a lot to get rid of a McKee!" Liam joked. "I'll love you and leave you now, I'm off to get some grub with my mates before they shut up for the night. See you later" he said while getting up from the table.

"Stay safe" Eddie and Luc called after him in unison as he walked away.

"Now I know the real reason why you joined the army. It was to keep an eye on Liam wasnt it?" asked Luc.

"Yes, I asked to be sent here so I could look out for him. He's the only family I've got left with mum and dad gone" she explained.

"Well now he has two of us to look out for him" Luc replied squeezing her hand.

"Thanks, that means alot" she said. "I'm really glad you're here" she continued while entwining her fingers in his.

"I'm glad I am too. Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.

"Yes, lets go for a walk around the base, I'll show you where everthing else important is. I could do with walking off that ice-cream anyway!" she replied with a grin. They got up and left the mess hall arm in arm. Glad to be reunited.


	4. Chapter 4

Just finished watching blood ties again, brilliant episode. JM was excellent in it. Will bring some of it into this chapter i think. Hope you like it.

Chapter 4:

Eddie brought Luc on a walking tour around the camp showing him where the officers' mess, bar, gym, pharmacy, and stores were and telling him all the relevant information he'd need to know. It had gotten dark by the time they got to the playing fields, there was a soccer pitch marked out on the sand and goal posts. Beyond this there was a bit of a no-mans-land it was the buffer between the camp and the camp walls about a quarter of a mile away. There were sand dunes in the no-mans-land and it was one of Eddie favourite spots on the base as at night you could see the stars above and the lights from Kabul about three quarters of a mile away.

"This is one of my favourite spots on the base, I come here when I want some time to myself" she explained to Luc.

"I can see why, its rather beautiful here with the lights and stars at night. Do you want to sit for a while?" he asked as he was getting tired from all the walking.

"Yeah, sure" she said. The sat down beside each other in silence for a few minutes. Eddie was beginning to shiver with the cold.

"Are you cold? Your shivering" asked Luc.

"Just a bit" replied Eddie.

Luc got up and sat down behind her placing his legs either side of her and wrapping his arms around her. "Better?" he asked.

"Yes, better" she replied with a smile. She remembered the last time he had held her like this in the field in the mud when she had finally admitted to him about the drugs. She shuddered at the memory.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Just remembering the last time we sat like this in that muddy field" she replied .

"We've both been through a lot since then" Luc mused.

What happened to you after I left Holby?" she asked curious.

Luc sighed, he wasnt sure he wanted to talk about it but he decided that he need to be honest with her, after all, she had been honest with him about what had happened to her.

"Well, I threw myself into my research project, working on it day and night. I finally made a breakthrough on New Years Eve. However, I ended up having a bit of a meltdown that day as a patient I was treating triggered some flashbacks to the horrific time I'd spent in Sierra Leone working for the army years earlier. Sacha and Michael had to force me to get help and I went to see a psychiatrist. I ended up leaving Holby for a while and checking myself into a treatment centre for a few weeks. It really helped. When I came out, I wanted to find you. I contacted Liam and he told me you were in Dublin so I went there looking for you." he explained.

Eddie was shocked, she tried to take it all in. "Oh, my god" she exclaimed. "That WAS you I saw in Temple Bar that day"  
she cried. "I was walking through Temple Bar going to meet my friend for lunch when I thought I saw you walking down a side street, but when I ran after you, you'd disappeared" she explained.

"I was staying in a hostel there, I must have went in there. I checked the hospital Liam thought you were working in but they hadn't heard of you." he continued.

"Yes, I was supposed to be working in St Vincents hospital but ended up getting a job in St. James' hospital instead" she explained.

"That explains it. Well, as I wasnt able to find you I went back to the England and continued working on my research. We did the intial animal testing and it was successful so we're here doing the human trials of the drug." he explained.

"You're going to be testing your drug on the soldiers?" she asked.

"Yes, the MOD are sponsoring the trial as they believe the drug will save injured soldiers' lives. It stops people bleeding to death, you can see why they'd be interested in it." he replied.

"Wow, that's great." said Eddie. She turned around to face Luc, kneeling down but still in between his legs. She put her hand on his cheek, staring into his eyes. There were tears in her eyes. "I cant believe you came looking for me" she whispered.

"I wanted to find you so much" he whispered back. "I needed you, I still do" he admitted.

"I need you too" she whispered before kissing him gently on the lips. Luc put his hand on the side of her neck pulling her to him so he could kiss her again. They kissed passionately, dropping backwards onto the soft sand behind them.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity but eventually came up for air. They lay on top of each other on the soft sand looking into each others eyes. Luc stroked her hair, a big smile on his face.

"Luc, you know we cant sleep together on base, there's a no sex rule and you're my superior officer" she said.

"Yes, I know. I guess we'll just have to go back to being teenagers again, not fun below the waist and sneaking around to get some time together" he replied laughing. He pulled her close for another kiss. It was getting cold and late.

"Come on, we'd better get back to our quarters or Karen will send out a search party for me" Eddie said. They reluctantly got up and made their way back to the medical quarters, holding hands until there was people around.

They got back to the door of Luc's tent and could hear laughing and talking coming from inside.

"I forgot, it's poker night" said Eddie. The went into Luc's tent to find Larry, Karen and some other men and women sitting around the table playing poker and having a few beers.

"Ah, there you two are. Where have you been? You're missing poker night" said Larry when he saw them.

"I was just giving Luc the grand tour of the base" explained Eddie.

"Luc, this is our tentmate Karl" said Larry pointing to the man sitting to his left.

Karl turned around and shook Luc's hand. "Karl Cleary, nice to meet you" said Karl.

"Luc, these are my tent-mates, Karen, who I think you met earlier and Angela" said Eddie introducing the two women at the table. Luc shook hands with both the women and said hello to them.

"Do you want to join us?" Larry asked them.

"No, its ok. It's a bit late" said Eddie looking at Luc. "I think we'll go back to my tent for a while" she said.

Eddie and Luc left the tent and went to Eddie's place two tents down the row. They walked in to the empty tent. Eddie's place was much the same as Luc's tent. Three beds lined up in a row, lockers, some metal shelves and a table and chairs to one side.

"Which one's yours?" Luc asked as he took in his surroundings.

"The end one" she said. She had gone to her locker to get a cardigan to put on. Luc went down to her bed and sat on it.

"I can see what you mean about the extra mattress, it is much more comfortable" he said. He looked down at the pile of books by her bed, there was some Stephen King ones, some medical books, and some Terry Pratchett books.

"I didnt know you liked Terry Pratchett books" Luc said surprised.

"Its only recent, Karen got me hooked on them. I love the ones about the guards" she replied.

"I love them too, he has such a quirky sense of humour" Luc said.

"I'm glad you approve of my reading material" she said as she sat down on the bed beside him. "You look tired" she continued.

"Yes, I'm exhausted after all of today's excitement. I still cant believe I had to come all the way to Kabul to find you again" he said as he stroked her cheek.

"Lie down on my bed and have a rest. Dont worry, Karen will throw you out when she gets back" she said.

"Sounds like she's the boss around here" said Luc.

"She's the mother hen alright, I dont know what I would have done without her these last two months" Eddie replied with a smile.

"Ok, I'll lie down, but only if you lie down with me" he said with a smile.

"OK" she replied before kissing him softly on the lips.

Karen and Angela arrived back in their tent about an hour and a half later to find Eddie and Luc fast asleep fully clothed on top of each other on Eddie's bed. Karen went over and woke Eddie up. Eddie in turn gently woke Luc up. "Come on sleepyhead, you have to go back to your own bed" she said as she dragged him up off her bed.

"But I was enjoying that" protested Luc. Eddie walked him to the door of her tent and said good bye to him at the door. She kissed her fingers and put them to his mouth. "See you tomorrow" she said.

Luc squeezed her hand and whispered "see you tomorrow my love" into her ear. He turned and walked off to his tent. Eddie smiled to herself. This was the happiest she had felt in a long time. She walked back to her bed.  
"You two looked very cosy, is there something you want to tell us?" teased Karen.

"Good night Karen" was Eddie's only response as she smiled to herself and got ready for bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all of the reviews and noticing my mistake, meant put Kabul in instead of Basra, have corrected it now though. Lovely to hear all of the nice comments. Hope you like this next bit.

Chapter 5:

Eddie woke up the next morning to the sound of Karen's hairdryer, as usual. She pulled her pillow over her head to try to drown out the noise. God, can she not get a quieter one, she thought to herself. She started thinking about what had happened the previous day and wondered did she just dream the whole thing. She decided that the only way to find out was to get up and go and check that Luc was actually in the tent only a couple of hundred yards from hers. She got up, got together her uniform and washing bag and towels and was about to head to the showers when Karen stopped her, blocking her path.

"Spill the beans" said Karen.

"About what?" Eddie asked innocently.

"About you and Luc. What's going on?" Karen asked.

"Good, I didnt just dream it then" Eddie replied relieved.

"Tell me" said Karen.

"Ok, look, we sort of got back together but it's complicated, he's my superior officer so we can't really be together officially on base can we?" Eddie replied.

"Eddie, I know there's rules and all but the rest of us arent going to say anything to the commanding officer now are we? We wont tell anyone, promise" Karen assured Eddie.

"Thanks. I appreciate that" replied Eddie. Karen moved out of the way and let her go to the showers.

Meanwhile, in a tent 2 doors down Luc was waking up to his first morning in Camp Kabul. He rolled over in the bed and tried to locate his phone under the bed to switch off the alarm. He switched off the alarm and opened his eyes gingerly. He looked around. Where am I? He thought for a few seconds, then realisation dawned on him. Yes, I'm in an army base in Afghanistan and I'm lying on the most uncomfortable bed in the world. He gradually lifted himself up out of bed and murmured to himself "I'm definately getting another mattress for that bed".

"Good morning" Karl whispered to him.

"Is it?" replied Luc rather louder than he had wished.

"Sush! Larry's still asleep, he's on a day off today" whispered Karl.

"Sorry" whispered Luc. Luc rummaged through his bags and found his other uniform. "Must unpack" he thought to himself. He got himself dressed slowly as the bed had taken its toll on his back. He tried to stretch it out, hoping it would feel better but it didn't help much. "I need a massage" he murmured to himself.

"You ok?" asked Karl.

"Just got a bad back from the bed, must get another mattress for it" replied Luc.

"The lads in the stores will sort you out with one for a price" replied Karl.

"Yes, I know. Eddie told me yesterday" replied Luc. He suddenly remembered the events of the previous day and a smile came over his face.

"Oh, good. I'm off to get breakfast. Talk to you later." replied Karl before leaving the tent. Luc turned around to find something else in his bag and heard someone entering the tent.

"Did you forget something?" Luc asked.

"What?" replied Eddie.

"oh, Hi. I thought you were Karl coming back in" he replied in explanation.

"Nope, its just me, your favourite nurse" she replied with a smile. Luc walked towards her and Eddie saluted him.

"You know you dont have to do that saluting thing when we're alone" he said.

"I do, its protocol" replied Eddie seriously.

"ok, if you really want to" he replied and saluted her back.

"How are you this morning?" she asked.

"All the better for seeing you" he replied with a smile. He looked around to see if Larry was watching them. He looked to be asleep and was facing the other direction. Luc leaned forward and placed his hand under Eddie's chin. He kissed her on the lips softly. She kissed him back pulling him closer to her by putting her hands around his neck. They pulled apart after a few minutes and smiled at each other.

"Breakfast?" Luc asked.

"Yes, breakfast" Eddie replied. They went out into the morning sunshine and made their way to the mess tent. They grabbed their trays and lined up at the counter.

"Morning Billy. How are you today?" Eddie asked when she spotted him behind the counter serving.

"I'm great. Just got some more photos from home. Do you want to see them?" he asked.

"Yes please" replied Eddie. Billy took 3 photos out of his top pocket and gave them to Eddie.

"Doesn't Jessie look adorable in her ballet costume?" Eddie said. "And little Tommie is getting huge, what's Carol feeding him?" she continued. Billy looked on with a proud smile.

Eddie showed the photos to Luc who was standing beside her.

"It's a beautiful family you've got there. How old are the children?" asked Luc.

"Thank you. They're 6, 4, and 18 months" replied Billy proudly.

"I'd say they keep Carol on her toes" replied Luc laughing.

"They're a handful alright" replied Billy laughing. Luc passed the photos back to Billy.

"Now, what can I get you two?" asked Billy.

"I'll have some scrambled eggs and some bacon, thanks" said Eddie. Billy got it ready and handed it to her.

"I'll have the same but with a sausage too thanks" replied Luc. Billy handed it to him.

"Thanks Billy, see you later" Eddie said as they walked away to find a table. They found a table halfway down the hall and sat down.

Eddie looked at Luc in amazement.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm just shocked, I've never seen you like that with someone before" she said.  
"What do you mean?" he asked puzzled.  
"I mean making small talk, asking questions, that sort of thing" she replied.

"Maybe I've learnt something by following your example. You taught me alot when we worked together at Holby you know." he replied with a smile.

Just then Private Nicholson came over to them and saluted them. They saluted him back.

"Dr Hemingway, your equipment for your lab has arrived. Do you want me to start unpacking it?" Nicholson asked.

"Yes please , I'll come help you when I'm finished here. Is there any word on when my visitors will arrive? Luc replied.

"Yes Sir, they're due around Midday provided the weather at Camp Bastion improves. There has been a sandstorm there this morning so nothing could take off or land but I believe the storm is nearly over now." he replied.

"Ok. I'll meet you outside when I'm finished" replied Luc.

"What was that about?" asked Eddie.

"We're running the trial in Camp Bastion too and my colleagues are coming here for a meeting this morning to go through the details of the trial. That reminds me, I'll have a little surprise for you later" he said with a big grin.

"What kind of surprise?" she asked.

"I'm not telling. You'll just have to wait and see" he replied cryptically.

"Meanie!" she replied. They finished off their breakfasts and made their way outside.

"I'll come find you later with your surprise" Luc said as he headed towards where Nicholson was waiting for him.

"Can't wait. See you later" she replied before heading off to the hospital to start her shift.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry the last chapter was a bit of a filler, but all will become clear later. Hope you like this one.

Chapter 6:  
Eddie had spent the morning in the hospital looking after the 3 wounded soldiers from the previous day's attack. Thankfully, they were all stable but would have a long road to recovery ahead of them. She had been so busy looking after them and a few other soldiers with minor injuries that she didnt even notice it was time for her lunch break.

"Eddie, are you going for lunch soon?" Karen asked as she wanted to take a late lunch herself.

"Yes, I think I'll go now. Luc was supposed to come see me but he must have gotten caught up sorting out his lab" she replied.

"I'm sure he'll find you later" replied Karen smiling. "Remember to tell him about the welcome party for him later, wont you" she continued.

"Yes, of course. I'll be back in about an hour" replied Eddie. She had made her way out of the hospital when she heard someone calling her.

"MSO McKee" Nicholson shouted. Eddie turned around and Nicholson ran up to her. Nicholson saluted her and said "MO Hemingway has asked me to bring you to his lab, can you come with me?" he asked.

"Sure, no problem" Eddie replied. Nicholson lead her to a newly constructed tent that was situated the other side of the hospital.

"In here please" directed Nicholson. Eddie entered the tent which was kitted out with desks and chairs, filing cabinets, and work benches. She looked over the far side of the tent to see Luc sitting at a desk with someone sitting opposite him in a chair with their back to Eddie.

"Thank you Nicholson, you can go for your lunch now if you like" Luc said.

"Thank you Sir" replied Nicholson. When Nicholson had left Luc ushered Eddie over.

"Eddie, I want you to meet my research partner" Luc said with a smile. Eddie walked over to him and noticed that the other person in the room looked female. When Eddie got over to them she gasped in shock.

"Frieda!" she exclaimed.

Frieda immediately got up from her chair and rushed over to hug Eddie.

"Eddie, I could not believe it until I had seen it with my own eyes" said Frieda as she hugged Eddie.

"What? How?" replied Eddie still in shock.

"Frieda is looking after the part of the trial taking place in Camp Bastion" explained Luc. "She has been working with me since we were carrying out the last phase of the trial and I presuaded her to come out here to help with this part too" he continued.

"who needed persuading, what women could turn down going to live in a camp with hundreds of men in uniform" replied Frieda with a grin. "The only problem is the heat, I am melting!" she exclaimed.

"All we need now is Sacha and we can have a proper AAU reunion!" Eddie said laughing.

"That can be arranged. He has promised to skype me while I'm over here" replied Luc laughing.

"I'm on my lunch break. Do you want to grab some lunch with me?" Eddie asked Luc and Frieda.

"Sounds good" said Luc. They all went off to the mess hall for lunch. About an hour later they left the mess hall.

"Come see me before you leave?" Eddie asked Frieda.

"Yes, no problem. I'll probably be here a few more times in the next few months so we'll see each other again, dont worry" replied Frieda.

"Great" replied Eddie smiling. "Oh, by the way Luc, Larry and Karl have arranged a welcome to camp party for you tonight in your tent, they said to let you know" she continued.

"Thanks for letting me know" replied Luc. "We'll come find you later before Frieda leaves" he continued. Eddie returned to the hospital and Luc and Frieda headed back to the lab. Luc did as he had promised and brought Frieda to see Eddie in the hospital before she left to go back to Camp Bastion.

Later that evening Eddie's tent was a hive of activity, Eddie and her tentmates were getting themselves ready for the party. They dressed themselves up and left for the party at about 8 o' clock.

"Knock, knock" Eddie said as they got to the door of the tent.

"Come in" cried Larry from inside. They went in.

"Ah, its our 3 favourite nurses. You all look beautiful!" exclaimed Larry in a very jolly mood.

"Thanks Larry" replied Eddie and Karen in unison, blushing.

Luc came over to them. "Thanks for coming ladies, would you like a drink?" he asked.  
"A beer for me please" replied Karen.

"I'll just have a lemonade" replied Eddie. Luc went off and got them their drinks and gave them to them. Karen chatted with Luc and Eddie for a while before going off to talk to another nurse.

Luc was surprised as Eddie didn't have any alcohol. "Do you not drink anymore?" he asked.

"No, I gave it up for good after mum died" she replied. "I didnt want to end up like her" she continued sadly.

"That's understandable. It must have been hard. I'm proud of you" Luc replied squeezing her hand.

"This is a very melancholy conversation to be having at a party, come on, lets dance" Eddie replied. She dragged Luc out onto the dance floor and they danced away.

Later in the evening the party quietened down until there was just Luc and Eddie's tentmates left at the party. They sat around and started telling funny stories about their medical training and unusual patients they had come across. "Luc, tell us some embarrasing stories about working with Eddie" Larry asked.

"I'm not sure if I should" Luc replied.

"Oh, come on" begged Larry and Karen in unison.

"Ok, well the first words she ever said to me were "Dont do it" meaning dont throw yourself off the roof. She saw me on the roof of the hospital on my first day and thought I was going to top myself! Of course, I wasnt going to, I was just up there for a breather trying to calm my nerves before my first shift. She seems to have a thing about rooves, come to think of it. A couple of months later on New Year's Eve I was asleep in my campervan in the grounds of the hospital when I heard a noise like someone climbing on the roof. I looked out of the skylight to see Eddie standing on the roof of my campervan, a little the worst for ware, reenacting that scene from the film "Titanic" and shouting "Top of the world" at the top of her lungs!" Luc told them laughing.

Eddie blushed. "I'm afraid they're the most embrassing stories I have about her. They're not too bad really" Luc continued. As the night went on, Luc went and laid down on top of his bed. Eddie came down and sat down on his bed beside him.

"Thanks for not telling them too much" she said.

"You're welcome" he replied with a smile. "Did you have a good night?" he asked.

"Yes, but I'm tired now" she replied.

"Come here, lie down with me?" he asked. Eddie laid down on the bed beside him.

"Thanks for my surprise earlier. It was lovely to see Frieda again" she said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I thought you'd like it" he replied with a smile. Luc continued listening to the others telling stories. About half an hour later, the others decided to call it a night. Luc looked down at Eddie, she was fast asleep. He managed to move himself out from under her and got up.

"Eddie's out for the count. I'll carry her to her bed. Will you help me?" he asked Karen.

"No problem, I'll get the door for you" Karen said. Luc gently picked up Eddie in his arms trying his best not to wake her and carried her to her own tent. He gently laid her down on her bed. Karen had followed him.

"It's nice to see her sleeping soundly, she has been having awful nightmares since she got here, some of them about her mum and some about the miscarriage" Karen told Luc.

"What miscarriage?" Luc asked puzzled.

"Oh, I thought you knew, sorry. She had one about 2 months after she left Holby. It really hit her hard. I'm not sure she's quite over it yet. She blames herself for it" explained Karen.

"Did she say anything about the father?" asked Luc.

"I dont think he even knew she was pregnant" replied Karen.

"Ok. Can you look after her from here?" asked Luc as he was still in shock.

"No problem. Goodnight" Karen said.

"Yes, goodnight" replied Luc as he walked out of the tent in a daze. His mind was swirling with millions of questions. He went back to his tent and got into bed his mind still reeling.

Chapter 7:

Luc spent the night tossing and turning in his bed, unable to settle. There were too may things going round in his head. Was it his baby? Was she going to tell him about it back then or now even? Why did she blame herself for losing it? He kept coming up with different answers to all of these questions. He really needed to talk to her. He was almost euphoric when his alarm finally went off. He turned it off and quickly got himself dressed. He headed for Eddie's tent.

"Knock, knock" he said when he got to the door.

"Come in" Karen shouted.

Luc entered the tent. "I need to speak to Eddie" he said to Karen who was nearest the door.

"I'm not sure if she's awake yet. She's off today so she usually has a lie-in" replied Karen.

"It's ok, I'm awake" Eddie called from the comfort of her bed.

"Ok, we're heading to work. Talk to you later" replied Karen as her and Angela left for breakfast and then work.

Luc walked down to Eddie's bed. "Hey, this is a nice surprise" Eddie said as he sat down on her bed beside her.

"What's wrong?" she asked when she saw the look on his face.

"Eddie, I need to ask you about something, I'm sorry" Luc replied.

"Sure, you know you can ask me anything" she replied with a smile.

"Karen told me something last night and I need to know if its true" he replied.

"Ok Luc, just ask, you're getting me worried now" Eddie implored.

"She said you had a miscarriage a couple of months after you left Holby. Its not Karen's fault, she tought I already knew about it. But I have to know..." he asked sadly.

Eddie sat up in the bed and put her hand on his cheek, stroking it lovingly. Tears started falling from her eyes.

"Yes, it was ours and I wanted to have it more that you can imagine. I was going to tell you, I promise. I was planning to go the see you in Holby on the day it happened but I didnt get there. I'm so sorry. I should have told you but I just didnt know how" she cried.

Luc pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. There were tears coming from his eyes too.

"I'm sorry Luc, if it hadn't been for those stupid drugs we would have a lovely baby right now. It's all my fault" Eddie sobbed. Luc pulled away from her slightly, stroking her cheek and staring her straight in the eyes.

"Eddie, it wasnt your fault ok, you dont know it was the drugs that caused it. You know yourself how many pregnancies dont go to term. There could have been a million other reasons why it happened. I'm telling you here and now that you are to stop blaming yourself for this" he said to her sternly.

Eddie started sobbing again and Luc pulled her close to him hugging her tightly. They held each other tightly until the sobbing stopped. Luc kissed Eddie on the forehead and said "There is one good thing that has come from this".

"What's that?" asked Eddie.

"At least we know we can get pregnant, for future reference" replied Luc.

"Does that mean you want to have babies?" asked Eddie.

"Yes, of course. We're going to have the cutest kids ever" replied Luc smiling.

"Promise?" asked Eddie.

"I promise" replied Luc. "But we'll have to wait until we're both back in the U.K. alright?" he continued.

"That's a deal" replied Eddie smiling from ear to ear.

Luc gave Eddie a passionate kiss and said "ok, I'd better go, some of us have to work today. Enjoy your day off and I'll see you later". Eddie laid back down in bed feeling like a weight had been lifted off her mind.


	7. Chapter 7

Sad to see Luc leaving Holby last night but glad the way they ended it. He was such an interesting character to watch and we'll miss him and JM on our screens. We'll just have to keep him living on in fanfiction land. Hope you like the next bit. E. :)

Chapter 8:

Once Luc had his lab all set up and the drug trial details sorted out he was rostered in to start working shifts in the hospital. Luc and Eddie were soon back into their old routine of having their little arguments over their patients' treatment. The other nurses and doctors soon learned not to get involved in these "discussions" as Eddie would call them. Karen reckoned that their little arguments were the result of sexual tension but Eddie would deny this. Whatever argument they had, Luc and Eddie would always end up making up by the end of the day.

Luc's birthday was fast approaching and Eddie was hatching a plan so that they could have some time alone togther away from prying eyes. The personnel stationed at Camp Kabul were allowed a free pass once a month so that they could spend some time in the green zone in the city. The green zone was an area about a mile square in the city that was protected by the army and was the place where most of the foreign embassies and businesses that had offices in Kabul were situated. There was also some shops, restaurants, and even a few hotels in the green zone. Eddie's only problem was that in the hotels you needed a passport to book a room and the army had hold of her one. However, she knew that Karen and her boyfriend Tony, who worked for a private security company based in the green zone, had stayed at a hotel in the green zone a few times. She decided to ask her about it. Eddie and Karen were alone in their tent this evening as Angela was on shift in the hospital.

"Karen, can I ask you something?" asked Eddie nervously.

Karen put down the book she was reading. "Course you can" replied Karen.

"You know the way you meet up with Tony sometimes in the green zone and go to a hotel?" asked Eddie slightly blushing.

"Yes" said Karen intrigued.

"Well, do you need a passport to book a room in that hotel?" Eddie asked.

"You would usually but Tony knows one of the managers and he lets him book the room without it as long as he pays in cash and in sterling or U.S. dollars. Why?" asked Karen.

"Well, its just that it's Luc's birthday soon and I want to do something special for him. I'd like to bring him there for the night, I'm sure he'd like a bit of luxury for the night" replied Eddie blushing.

"Yes, I think you two could do with some time alone together, you might stop arguing so much in work then" Karen replied smirking. "When do you have your free passes for?" she asked.

"We have them for Saturday night" replied Eddie.

"I'll be speaking to Tony tomorrow, I'll ask him if he can arrange it for you. The only thing is that you'll have to pretend that you're married at the hotel as they dont let unmarried couples share the same room" Karen replied.

"oh, I'm sure that will be ok" replied Eddie.

The next day Karen pulled Eddie aside in the hospital. "Tony was able to arrange that for you for Saturday night, here's the details" Karen said as she handed Eddie a piece of paper.

"Great, thank you so much" Eddie replied beaming. Karen walked off and Luc came over to her.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Oh nothing, Karen was just giving me the name of a few nice restaurants in the green zone for Saturday night" Eddie replied lying through her teeth.

"That was nice of her. It'll be nice to get away from this place for a few hours wont it?" replied Luc.

"Yes, I cant wait" replied Eddie smiling.

"Can you come meet me in the lab when your shift's over?" Luc asked.

"No, problem, why?" asked Eddie.

"I just want to get your opinion on something I'm writing, that's all" he replied.

"Ok, I'm not sure how useful I'll be though, my spelling is dreadful!" she replied.

"ok, I'll see you there later" replied Luc with a smile. His shift in the hospital was over for the day so he went off to his lab to do some research work.

After her shift Eddie left the hospital and made her way to the lab next door. She entered the tent, still slightly puzzled as to why Luc would want her of all people to do some proofreading for him.

"Hi" she said as she made her way over to Luc's desk. He was working away on his computer and looked up to her.

"Is it that time already?" asked Luc. "The last few hours have flown" he exclaimed.

Eddie leaned down and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Time flies when you're having fun I guess" she replied smiling.

"Sit down beside me, I want to show you something" Luc said as he moved over in the chair, making room for her to sit down beside him.

He clicked a few buttons on his computer and a phone symbol came up on the screen. A few seconds later a dark picture appeared on the screen, the image became brighter gradually and suddenly there was a grey haired man on the screen.

"Is this thing working? Hello, can you hear me Luc?" asked the image on the screen.

"Yes, we can hear you, but you need to move back from the screen so we can see you better" replied Luc.

"Hi Luc! How's life in Camp Kabul?" asked Sacha.

"It's good, I have someone here who wants to say hello to you" replied Luc.

"Hi Sacha, is that really you?" asked Eddie laughing.

"Eddie, is that you?" asked Sacha totally shocked.

"Yes, the one and only" she replied.

"What are you doing there?" Sacha asked.

"I'm working as an army nurse and trying to keep this fellow on his toes" she replied pointing to Luc.

"Imagine, I had to come all the way to Afghanistan to find her again" replied Luc smiling.

"Has she met your other research partner yet?" asked Sacha.

"Yes, she's met Frieda" replied Luc.

"Oh, wow. We've almost got the whole AAU gang back together" replied Sacha laughing.

"How's Chrissie and the kids?" asked Eddie.

"They're good. Really good" replied Sacha. "How are you two?" he asked.

"We're great. Its nice to be away from the dreary British weather for a while" replied Eddie.

"Yes, its hard work over here but we do get to have a bit of fun sometimes. We're going into Kabul City on Saturday for a few hours R&R" Luc added.

"That'll be fun, will it be safe?" asked Sacha.

"It should be fine, we're going to a part of the town that's guarded by our forces so it will be pretty safe" explained Eddie.

"Have a good time" said Sacha. "oh, and happy birthday Luc" he continued.

"Thanks Sacha, we'll have to go now, we're losing the satellite connection. I'll email you later about how the trial is getting on so far" Luc said as the image of Sacha started disappearing from the computer screen.

"Wow, it was nice seeing Sacha again. I didnt realise how much I'd missed him" replied Eddie sadly.

Luc put his arm around her. "Dont worry, we wont be here forever. I'm sure we'll see him when we get back to the U.K. in a few months" replied Luc before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"We'll have to make sure we do. I miss his hugs!" replied Eddie.

"What, are my ones not as good?" asked Luc.

"No comment" replied Eddie smiling. "Come on, lets go get some dinner" said Eddie changing the subject and dragging Luc up off the chair after her.

Chapter 9:  
Eddie was glad when Saturday finally arrived, the week had seemed to drag on forever. She finished her shift at the hospital and rushed back to her tent to get herself ready for their night out away from the base. They were being collected at 7.30 pm and would have 12 hours free time in Kabul. She had been into the Green Zone a couple of times with Karen and Angela and knew her way around pretty well. Karen had given her good directions to the hotel and had recommended a restaurant a few doors down from it that served local food that was really nice. Eddie packed some spare clothes and the wedding rings they'd need for the hotel. Karen had told her to get Luc to do all the talking when they got to the hotel as the locals were still a bit old fashioned and didnt really like women talking too much.

Eddie finished getting herself ready and made her way to Luc's tent. "Knock, knock" she said at the door.

"Come in" shouted Luc.

Eddie went in. Luc was just finishing getting dressed. Larry was there too, him and Angela were going into the City tonight too.

"Hey Eddie. You look nice" said Larry. "Are you looking forward to getting out of here for a few hours? he asked.

"You bet! Are you nearly ready Luc?" she asked.

"Yes, I'll be with you in a minute" Luc replied.

"Larry, Angela told me to tell you to go up to her when you're ready" Eddie said.

"Perfect, I'll head up to her now, see you later" Larry replied before heading out the door.

Luc came over to Eddie. "Are you alright, you seem a little nervous?" he asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little excited that's all. Looking forward to getting you to myself for a few hours" she said smiling.

"Me too" he said before giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Come on, lets go" he said leading the way out of the tent.

They went up their meeting point outside the mess tent. Corporal Taylor was there waiting for them. He gave them some advice about where to go in the Green Zone and what to do if there was any problems. They had to be back at their meeting point in the Green Zone by 7.45 am sharp the next morning he told them or the convoy back to base would go without them. They climbed into the armoured landrovers and headed out of the base. It was a bumpy 20 minute drive into the green zone. Luc was glad to get out of the landrover when they finally got there, he had been feeling slightly clastrophobic in it but Eddie had rubbed his back all the way to help him relax.

Corporal Taylor repeated his instructions and told them to have a good time and stay out of trouble. They were dropped off in a street with a small square at the end of it.

"Where do you want to go?" Luc asked Eddie as the others went off in various directions.

"Dont worry, I have the whole night planned out" replied Eddie as she dragged Luc off by the hand in the direction of the hotel.

"Where are we going?" Luc asked.

"For dinner and then I've got a birthday surprise for you" she said smiling.

"Sounds good" replied Luc smiling.

They arrived at the restaurant that Karen had recommended and went inside. The waiter came over to them.

"Table for two please" said Luc. The waiter seated them at a table beside the window.

"Karen said the food here is really good, her and Tony come here alot" Eddie explained. "I think I'll just get a main course, I'm not very hungry" she continued.

"Yes, me too" replied Luc. They ordered their dinner, choosing some local dishes that sounded good on the menu. Their food came quite quickly and they began eating it.

"So what's this surprise you have for me then?" Luc asked.

"Ok, I suppose I'd better tell you. I've booked us into a hotel up the road for the night and we'll need to wear these" she said taking the rings out of her purse. She handed Luc's ring to him.

"Why?" he asked puzzled.

"Because they dont let unmarried couples share hotel rooms over here so we have to pretend to be married. We're Mr and Mrs Hemingway for the night, ok?" she explained.

"Sounds good to me" Luc replied laughing. He put on the ring. "I thought you needed a passport to book a hotel room here though and we dont have ours?" Luc asked.

"It's ok, Tony has a friend who's a manager at the hotel so he's arranged it for us" replied Eddie. "We just have to ask for him at the desk" she continued.

"Ok, lets eat up then" replied Luc smirking.

They finished their meal and paid the bill. They left the restaurant and walked up the road towards the hotel.

"You have to ask for Habib at the desk and here's the money for the room and a tip for him" Eddie said handing the money to Luc.

They got to the hotel and went inside. It didnt look very nice from the outside but inside it had beautiful marble on the walls and floor and was brightly decorated with Afghan art on the walls.

"Wow, this is nicer than I expected" said Eddie.

"Yes, its beautiful" replied Luc.

They got to the desk and asked for Habib. He came out of the office behind the desk, welcomed them and sorted out the room for them. "You're in room 25 on the second floor, have a good night Mr and Mrs Hemingway" Habib said handing Luc the room key.

They made their way to their room door. Luc opened the door and stopped Eddie going in.

"Hold on a second, shouldn't I carry my new bride over the threshold" he said while picking Eddie up and carrying her into the room. He kicked the door closed behind him. Eddie giggled. He carried her over to the bed and gently dropped her on it. Luc flopped down onto the bed beside her.

"Wow, I think this is the most comfortable bed in Afghanistan" Luc said to Eddie.

"I wonder what the springs are like, care to try them out?" Eddie replied suggestively.

"Sounds good" replied Luc smirking. Eddie got up and started jumping up and down on the bed.

"What are you doing? Get down here" demanded Luc who was still lying on the bed. Eddie dropped back down onto the bed lying down beside him. Luc turned his head towards her, staring at her.

"That is why I love you, you're crazy" he said laughing.

"What did you just say?" Eddie asked while turning onto her side.

"I said you're crazy" replied Luc.

"No, before that?" she asked.

"I said that I love you" replied Luc smiling. Eddie rolled over on top of him so that their faces were inches away from each other. She kissed him softly on the lips.

"I love you too" she whispered kissing him again. Their kisses became increasingly passionate, they began undressing each other, throwing the clothes all around the room. Their fingers entwined as they made love to each other with an intense passion. When they had finished they lay on top of each other smiling from ear to ear.

"Happy birthday Luc" Eddie said while trying to catch her breath.

"Best birthday present ever" replied Luc breathlessly.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for the reviews. I hope you're all enjoying this. I'm writing this from my sickbed, dying with a cold so please excuse any mistakes! E :)

Chapter 10:

Luc woke up about 2 hours later to find himself alone in the bed. He looked around the room but their was no sign of Eddie. Her phone was on the locker beside him so he checked what time it was, 12.10 at night. He got up out of bed and looked around for his boxers, he grabbed them from their resting place on the lamp and put them on. He went over to the bathroom door and could hear splashing noises coming from the bathroom. He opened the door and went in. Eddie's head was sticking up out of a layer of bubbles and foam in the bath and she was humming away to herself.

"You look like you're enjoying that Mrs Hemingway!" said Luc.

"It's fabulous, come join me?" she asked beckoning him over.

"I'm not sure there's enough room" he replied.

"Course there is, get in" she demanded.

Luc took off his boxers and stepped into the bath. He sat down beside her, moving her until he was sitting behind her.

"Oh, this is nice" he said.

Eddie took up a handful of bubbles and playfully rubbed them on his face laughing. Luc wiped the suds from his eyes and said "thanks for that" sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist" Eddie said before kissing him on the lips to apologise. They kissed for a few minutes and the went back to relaxing in the bath.

After a few minutes silence Luc said "You know what's strange?"

"What?" asked Eddie.

"I liked the way Habib called us Mr and Mrs Hemingway earlier. It didnt freak me out like I thought it would" he mused.

"Really?" she asked.

"No, not at all" he replied. "Eddie, where do you see us in 5 years time?" he asked.

"I havent really though about it, but I hope we're still together and living in England or somewhere in Europe maybe" she replied.

"I'd love it if we were like Billy and his family. Me and you and a couple of kids. We'd be taking them to ballet lessons and soccer practice and music lessons and living in a big house with a back garden and a few pets" he replied whistfully.

"I'm surprised. I wouldn't have thought you'd want such a normal life, being tied to one spot like that" Eddie replied.

"Maybe its because of my nomadic childhood that I'd like to have something normal to look forward to" Luc replied.

"You know you never really told me about your childhood" Eddie said.

"It wasnt great really, my mum was bipolar, a druggie, and a bit of a hippie. She dragged me from here to there depending on where her boyfriend at the time wanted to go. Most of the boyfriends were ok to me but there was one called Mike when I was about 6 who didnt like me being around so he would find any excuse to lock me in the cupboard under the stairs. He'd tell me there were monsters in the cupboard and that I'd be eaten by them" Luc explained.

"Oh, my god, that's horrible. No wonder you're claustrophobic!" replied Eddie. "He should be locked up for that" continued Eddie.

"It's too late, he died of a drug overdose when I was eight" replied Luc.

"I know its horrible to say this but serves him right for what he did to you" replied Eddie sternly. She turned around in the bath to face Luc looking him in the eyes. "I guess we're just going to have to make sure we end up like Billy and Carol then aren't we" before kissing him on the lips.

"You know, we already have one part of that picture. We have my house in Holby, its only got 3 bedrooms but its a start" Eddie said smiling.

"You own that house?" Luc asked.

"Yes, I paid off the mortgage with the money I got from selling mum's house in Leeds. It's rented out at the moment but will be available by the time I'm finish my tour of duty" Eddie replied.

"Wow, my girlfriend's rich! You know I'm only with you now for your money right?" Luc replied smiling.

"I always knew you were a gold-digger" Eddie retorted. "Well, you'd better start earning your keep. Wash my back for me!" she demanded laughing.

Luc took up the loofah and washed her back gently.

"What's next m'lady?" he asked when he'd finished.

Eddie thought about it for a minute, "more sex I think" she replied smirking. She stood up in the bath and said "last one to the bed is a rotten egg!"

She jumped out of the bath and ran into the bedroom closely followed by a dripping wet Luc.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry the last chapter was so short but I wanted to put the next 2 parts of the story together, it'll make sense when you read them. Hope you like it. E :)

Chapter 11:

The alarm on Eddie's phone sounded at 7 am the next morning waking her and Luc up. Luc reached over to grab the phone and turned off the alarm. He looked down at Eddie who was lying with her head on his chest.

"Morning Mrs Hemingway" he said smiling.

"Morning" Eddie replied sleepily before pulling herself up so that her face was level with his face. She kissed him softly on the lips. "You're going to have to stop calling me that or we'll get into trouble when we're back on base you know" she said.

"Yeah, I know" he said sadly. "But I'll be calling you that for real one day, I promise" he said before kissing her passionately. Eddie just beamed back at him.

"Did you enjoy your birthday surprise?" she asked.

"It was brilliant, the best present I've ever gotten" he said beaming. He gave Eddie a massive kiss on the lips and said "thank you so much my love".

"If only I could take this bed back to camp with me" he continued whistfully.

"I dont think it would fit in my handbag or in the landrover come to think of it!" replied Eddie laughing.

"Come on, we need to get a move on. We have to meet the others in about 40 minutes and I need some food. I'm starving after all of last night's high jinks" she said smirking as she got up out of bed. She dragged Luc up by the hand until he was sitting up in bed.

Eddie started walking around the room, picking up their clothes off the floor and off the furniture. She tossed Luc's clothes onto the bed beside him.

"Get dressed" she ordered.

"Yes, Maam!" replied Luc while he saluted her. He started getting dressed. Eddie got dressed and went into the bathroom to freshen up and to tidy it up after their antics the previous night.

Luc was dressed by the time she came out. He went into the bathroom while she went around the room making sure they had everything. When he came out she asked "Ready?".

"Yes, ready. Let's go Mrs H!" he replied.

"What did I just tell you?" she asked scolding him.

"Ok, Ok!" he replied smiling, he loved winding her up.

Chapter 12:

They got down to the front desk and left back their room key. They walked out into a bright sunny street bustling with people and cars. They grabbed a quick breakfast in a cafe down the street.

Eddie looked at the time. "Come on, we're late" she said grabbing Luc by the hand and rushed down the street. They turned onto the street where they were being picked up and could see the army landrovers at the bottom of the street. They ran down the street, they could see Larry and Angela in front of them walking towards the landrovers. Just as Larry and Angela got to the landrovers a number of shots rang out.

Luc grabbed Eddie dragging her to the ground with him. "Get down" he cried as a few more shots rang out. He could hear the soldiers calling out to each other "up there, up there!" before more shots rang out. Then it all went quiet apart from the sounds of screaming.

Luc got up and checked himself, he was ok. "Are you ok?" he asked Eddie, checking her for injuries.

"Just a scraped knee from when you pulled me down, thanks" she replied smiling.

"Oh, my god, Angela! Help her, she's bleeding!" cried Larry a few yards in front of them. Eddie and Luc ran over to them. Larry was bleeding from a wound to the arm and Angela was bent double, blood gushing from a stomach wound.

Eddie quickly looked after Larry, applying a pressure bandage to his arm made from a tshirt she had in her bag. She checked him over for more wounds but he was ok.

Luc went over to Angela who was quickly loosing blood and was unconscious. "She's been shot in the stomach" he cried.  
"We need to get her back to camp now!" he shouted. Some of the soldiers nearby ran over to him, Corporal Taylor being one of them.

"How bad is she?" asked Taylor.

"If we dont get her back to base in the next half hour she'll be dead" replied Luc as he tried to stop the bleeding.

"Will I call for a helicopter?" asked Taylor.

"How long will that take?" asked Luc.

"About 20 minutes" replied Taylor.

"No, that's too long, we'll drive her back in the landrover, me and Eddie will try to keep her alive until we get back to camp. What medical supplies do you have?" asked Luc.

"We've got a few drips, a first aid kit and some morphine." replied Taylor.

"Good, that'll help" replied Luc. The soldiers carefully lifted Angela into the landrover with Luc's help and Eddie got in too.

"Put your foot down!" Luc shouted to the driver as they drove off.

Luc and Eddie tried to stabilise Angela as best they could. Eddie attached a drip to her while Luc put pressure on the wound trying to stop the bleeding.

"Come on Elise, dont you die on me!" Luc said desperately. Eddie could see he was getting very anxious, the high pressure situation and confined space not helping his anxiety.

Eddie put her hands either side of Luc's face. "Luc, look at me" she said looking him in the eyes.

"It's ok, I'm here with you, you'll be safe. Ok?" she said trying to get him to relax. Luc calmed down and tried to think what else they could do to help Angela.

"Have you got any hair clips in your bag?" he asked Eddie.

"Yes" she replied.

"Give me them" he said. Eddie rooted around in her bag and found her makeup bag, she poured out its contents on the floor of the landrover and found the clips. She handed them to Luc.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to see if I can clip the ends of the artery thats damaged with them" he said as he took off the t-shirt they had been using as a bandage to stop the bleeding and tried to locate the artery.

"I can't see, can we get more light?" cried Luc.

"There's a few torches in that box under the seat" shouted the driver from the front of the landrover. Eddie grabbed the torches, turned them on and shone them onto the wound.

Luc scrabbled around with his fingers inside the wound until he located the two ends of the artery and clipped them with the hair clips.

"Got it! I hope this works" he said crossing his fingers.

They were soon back at base and the landrover screeched to a hault outside the door of the hospital. They got out, there were some medics waiting for them. They rushed Angela straight into theatre. Luc and Eddie got scrubbed up quickly and ran in.

Luc set about removing the clips and trying to repair the damage. "We need to give her some of our drug" he shouted to Eddie. Eddie went over to the bench and got the vial.

"Give her 20 cc's of it" ordered Luc as he worked. Eddie injected the drug into Angela's arm.

It took a few minutes but Angela's blood pressure started to improve. Luc continued working until he had the wound repaired and was just closing up the wound when Angela went into cardiac arrest.

"Come on Elise, come on, you can't do this to me now!" Luc cried. Eddie injected adrenaline into Angela while another nurse handed the defibrillator paddles to Luc.

"Stand clear" Luc shouted before shocking Angela.

There was no response. "Charge again, 300 volts" shouted Luc. "Clear" he shouted before shocking Angela again. Yet again, there was no response.

Larry came running into theatre. "You can't stop, try again" he shouted.

Luc looked at Larry, tears streamed down his face. "It's no use, she's gone" Luc cried as he tore off his theatre mask and gown and went running out of the theatre and the hospital.

Chapter 13:

It was about half an hour later before Eddie got the chance to go looking for Luc. She checked his tent and then the lab but he wasnt there. Where else could he be, she thought and then it hit her. She ran as fast as she could to the playing fields, running past soldiers doing their exercise regimes and others playing football. She ran past them all over to the sand dunes in no-mans land. As she got to the second sand dune she could see him sitting on the sand. He was sitting with his head buried in his knees and as she got closer she could hear he was crying.

Eddie sat down behind him, putting her legs either side of him and laid her head against his shoulder. She put her arms around him holding him tight.

"I couldn't save her Eddie, I couldn't save her" was all he could say, repeating it over and over as he cried.

"Who couldn't you save?" she asked.

"I couldn't save Elise" he cried.

"But you weren't working on Elise, you were helping Angela and you saved her" she said.

Luc lifted up his head and looked around at Eddie confused. Eddie got up and moved around, sitting at his side. She grabbed his face between her two hands.

"We got Angela back" she said smiling.

"But how?" he asked confused.

"Larry made us give her one more shot of adrenaline and shock her with the defibrillator again, and she came back, her heart restarted" Eddie explained smiling.

"What, I cant believe it!" Luc replied shocked.

"Neither could we! She was still unconscious but stable when I left the hospital a few minutes ago" Eddie explained.

"You saved her" Eddie said giving Luc a kiss on the lips.

Eddie moved around putting her arm around his back. Luc put his arm around her shoulder and they sat there in silence for a few minutes.

Eddie eventually got up the courage to ask her question. "Luc, who was Elise?" she asked.

"Why are you asking me that?" he asked confused.

"Because you kept on calling Angela Elise when you were working on her and you just said you couldn't save her" replied Eddie.

Luc took a deep breath and thought about it for a few minutes. He didnt know how to tell her. What would she think of him? Would she still want to be with him after he told her? he thought. Eventually, he decided to tell Eddie. He needed to he honest with her.

"When I was in the army the first time working as a medic in Sierra Leone I fell in love with my fellow medic Elise. We began seeing each other secretly and eventually I asked her to marry me. We got engaged and were planning to leave the army together a couple of months later." he explained.

"Then one night she went out on patrol. She wasnt supposed to go but they were short staffed so she volunteered. They were caught in an ambush and Elise was shot in the stomach" he said tears falling from his eyes.

"Oh, my god" said Eddie as she put her arms around him tighter.

Luc took a deep breath and continued "When they brought her back to the base they wouldn't let me treat her. I had been drinking with some of the other soldiers, I was drunk" he cried.

Luc took another deep breath and went on "I didnt know she had a rare blood disorder that stopped her blood clotting and she ended up bleeding to death on the operating table. I couldn't save her" Luc sobbed.

Eddie got up and kneeled down in front of him, she grabbed him pulling him into the tightest hug she could.

"I wasn't your fault, it wasnt your fault" she repeated over and over stroking him. She held him until he stopped sobbing.

"How can you say that?" asked Luc eventually. He pulled away from her and turned the other direction.

"You weren't the one that made her go out on patrol, you werent the one that shot her" replied Eddie.

"Yes, but if I hadn't been drunk I could have saved her" Luc protested.

"How do you know that? Even if you had worked on her you still mightn't have saved her. You're no more to blame for Elise dying than I am for loosing our baby" Eddie replied with tears in her eyes.

"We're not psychic. We can't see what consequences our actions are going to have before we do them, can we?" Eddie protested.

Luc thought about what she said for a few minutes. He moved back over beside Eddie and pulled her to him, hugging her.

"Thanks" he whispered softly into her ear.

"What for?" she asked.

" For making me realise that I'm only human and I can't fix everything, and for loving me" he whispered into her ear.

"That's my job" she said smiling. "I'm just glad to find out you're not a robot after all!" she joked.

"A robot?" he asked puzzled.

"Yes, Frieda and I were convinced that you were one when we first started working with you" she explained smiling.

Luc laughed.

"Come on, lets go see how Angela's getting on" he said as he got up off the sand and grabbed her hand to pull her upright.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks so much for the lovely reviews and the get well wishes, I'm feeling much better now. Hope you enjoy this next bit.

Chapter 14:

Eddie and Luc were relieved when Angela regained consciousness the next day and appeared to have suffered no long term damage as a result of her injuries. Larry decided to accompany Angela back to Germany for treatment and resigned from the army opting instead to look after the woman he had fallen in love with instead. Luc and Eddie were sad to see him go as he was such a lively character in the camp and had become a good friend to both of them but they understood why he had to go with her. They all bid a tearful good-bye to Larry and Angela the following day.

The next few months saw some new medical staff arrive and saw attacks on the camp's soldiers become more frequent too. Fortunately for Luc this gave him a few more opportunities to test out his new drug but he wished it didnt have to be at the expense of the pain and suffering of his patients. Luc tried to look on the positive side of this by thinking of the lives they had saved and would save with their new drug.

Today, he tried to take his mind off work by trying to work out what to do for Eddie for her birthday which was the following day. He had already arranged for Sacha to send him over a parcel of her favorite British crisps and chocolate but wanted to arrange something romantic for them to do even though they would be stuck on base for the day as they weren't due their next trip to the green zone for another 2 weeks. He decided upon a moonlight picnic at her favorite spot beside the sand dunes but needed some help from Billy to organise it. He called into Billy in the mess tent that afternoon when he knew Eddie would be busy at the hospital.

"Hello Billy, can I have a word with you?" he asked nervously.

"Hello Doc, what can I do for you?" asked Billy.

"I was hoping you could do me a favour. It's Eddie's birthday tomorrow and I'm trying to organize a surprise for her but I need your help" Luc explained.

"Sure, anything for my favourite nurse" replied Billy smiling.

"I was wondering if you could get your hands on some strawberries and ice-cream for me, its her favourite. I'm trying to organize a picnic for her" he explained.

"Sure, shouldn't be a problem, when do you need them for?" asked Billy.

"Tomorrow, about 6pm if possible" replied Luc.

"No problem, of course the strawberries we get here aren't as good as my Carol's at home, she grows all our fruit and veg at home you know, she even gets the kids to help. And they're all organic too" replied Billy smiling.

"Sounds like you've got a great woman there. I'd hang onto her if I were you" replied Luc smiling.

"You know Eddie reminds me alot of my Carol. They're both strong, fiesty, practical women that can drive you crazy but still you cant live without them" replied Billy whistfully.

"Tell me about it!" exclaimed Luc.

"You know, I could tell from the first time I saw you two together that there was something special between you two, like me and my Carol have" replied Billy.

"Thanks Billy" replied Luc slightly embarrassed.

"I'll get you the strawberries and ice-cream on one condition, that you promise me you'll look after Eddie for the rest of her life" replied Billy.

"I'll let you into a little secret Billy, that's exactly my intention" whispered Luc.

"Meet me here tomorrow at 6 pm then" replied Billy grinning.

The following evening Luc called into Eddie's tent to meet her at 7 pm, they went for dinner as usual in the mess tent but he didnt let her get desert. He told her he had a surprise for her after dinner. He told her they were going for a romantic walk and brought her to the sand dunes. There waiting for them was a blanket on the ground surrounded by candles flickering in the breeze, there was a cooler box to one side.

"What's all this?" asked Eddie smiling.

"Just a little moonlight picnic, nothing special really" replied Luc humbly. "Take a seat, birthday girl" he continued.

Eddie sat down in the middle of the blanket and Luc sat down beside her.

"Would madam like a little birthday treat?" he asked.

"Yes please" replied Eddie smiling.

Luc opened the cooler box and took out a bottle of grape juice, glasses and two portions of strawberries and ice-cream. He poured two glasses of juice and laid out the strawberries and ice-cream in front of them. They each took up a glass of juice.

"Happy birthday my love" Luc whispered as they clinked glasses. They both took a sip of the juice. Luc leaned over, put his hand under Eddie's chin and kissed her on the lips. Eddie put down her glass and put her hands each side of Luc's face.

"This is wonderful, thank you" she said before giving him a passionate kiss.

"Eat your strawberries" Luc instructed. They both tucked into the strawberries and ice-cream. When they had finished eating they laid down on the blanket together cuddling up to one another.

"That was yummy, where did you get them from?" asked Eddie.

"I had a little help from our friend Billy" admitted Luc. "He got me the strawberries and ice-cream but I had to promise him something" continued Luc.

"Oh, yeah. What was that?" she asked curious.

"Well, he made me promise to look after you for the rest of your life" replied Luc.

"What did you say?" asked Eddie.

"I told him I have every intention of doing that" replied Luc honestly.

"Really?" asked Eddie slightly shocked at Luc's honesty.

"Eddie, can I ask you something?" Luc asked as he turned over onto his side so that he could look her straight in the eyes.

"Ok" she replied nervously.

"When we get back home, will you marry me?" he asked sincerely.

Eddie raised her hand and stroked his cheek lovingly. There were tears in her eyes. She tried to think of how best to answer his question. She pulled him towards her and kissed him feverishly. She gently pulled her lips away from his and whispered "I thought you'd never ask!". They both smiled at each other. They kissed for a few minutes and laid there for a while until it got colder.

They got up off the blanket and packed up their belongings. As they were about to go back to their quarters Eddie pulled Luc to her putting her arms around his neck.

"Thank you for my lovely birthday present" she said before kissing Luc for the final time that night.


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for your reviews, I think I'm getting addicted to writing this but am enjoying it so much. Hope you are still enjoying it too.

Chapter 15:

Eddie woke up the next morning feeling elated, she was starting to finally feel secure in herself. She had a boyfriend she loved dearly and was back on good terms with Liam too. She just wished she didnt feel so nauseous today. She hadn't been feeling herself for the last few weeks but had put it down to the heat in Afghanistan. She tried not to let the sick feeling dampen her mood. She got showered and dressed and went to meet Luc for breakfast as usual. When she arrived at his tent he was alone.

"Morning" she said with a smile after he had told her to come in and she had saluted him.

"Morning my dear" replied Luc in a equally happy mood. He walked over to her and gave her a good morning kiss.

"How are you this morning?" he asked.

"Feeling a bit queasy" she replied. "Are you ok?" she continued.

"Yes, fine. Why?" he asked concerned.

"Oh, nothing. I thought it might be due to something I ate but I had the same as you last night so it mustn't be that. Probably just the heat getting to me" she replied.

"I can run a few tests on you if you want, now where's my stethoscope!" he said with a cheeky smile.

"That'd be fun, but we have to get to work soon" she replied smiling. " Come on, lets get breakfast" she continued while heading for the door.

They made their way to the mess tent and got in the queue to be served. Billy was behind the counter serving as usual but Eddie noticed he wasnt his usual self.

"Hello Billy, are you ok? You dont seem your usual self this morning?" Eddie asked concerned when it was her turn to be served.

"I had a call from home this morning, my little Tommy is in hospital, he's not good" replied Billy sadly.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Eddie.

"That's just it, they dont know" replied Billy.

"What are his symptoms?" asked Luc.

"Vomiting, fever, diahorrea, and he's dehydrated. They've run all the usual tests but can't find anything wrong" replied Billy almost in tears.

"Oh, Billy. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure they'll figure it out" replied Eddie as she grabbed his hand to comfort him.

"I dont know what we'd do if anything happened to him" replied Billy sadly.

"We'll say a few prayers for him" said Eddie.

Billy wiped his eyes and replied "Thanks, that means alot" with a sad smile. He went about serving their breakfast.

Eddie and Luc made their way to a table and sat down. They started eating their breakfasts.

"It must be so hard to know your child is sick and there's nothing you can do because you're thousands of miles from them" Eddie said. "Billy's such a sweet guy. He was so good to get you the strawberries for me yesterday. I wish there was more we could do for him" Eddie continued.

"Yes, he's a great guy" replied Luc absent mindedly. "That's it, the strawberries!" cried Luc as he got up from the table in a hurry.

"What?" asked Eddie but Luc was already at the food counter.

"Billy, you said yesterday that your wife grows her own vegetables organically, right?" asked Luc.

"Yes" replied Billy puzzled.

"What fertilizer does she use?" asked Luc.

"She uses farmyard manure she gets from a local farmer, why?" replied Billy.

"I was hoping you'd say that. I think I know what's wrong with Tommy then. Come on, we need to call your wife" replied Luc. Luc and Billy ran out of the mess tent and headed for the communications tent where the phones were.

Billy grabbed a phone and tried calling his wife's mobile but it went to voicemail. "Damn, she must have it switched off" said Billy.

"What hospital is he in?" asked Luc running to a computer.

"Leeds hospital" replied Billy. Luc got the number for the hospital on the internet and Billy rang the hospital. They got through to the children's ward. They were put through to the doctor treating Tommy and Luc took the telephone.

"Dr Patel, nice to speak to you. My name is Dr Hemingway and I am a family friend of Tommy's. His father has told me his symptoms and I wanted to ask if you have tested him for a Cryptosporidium infection yet?" asked Luc.

"No" replied Dr Patel.

"I believe Tommy could have come into contact with it in his mother's garden. Can you test him for it?" asked Luc.

"Yes, I'll get onto it straight away" replied Dr Patel. Luc handed the telephone back to Billy who thanked the doctor and asked him to ask his wife to call him.

Billy turned to Luc and asked, "What is that you're getting him to test for?".

"It's a parasitic infection you can pick up from contact with farmyard manure and unclean water. It doesnt show up in the normal tests you'd do for an infection, there's a special test for it. If it is a Cryptosporidium infection then they can give Tommy some special drugs and he should recover it a few days" explained Luc.

"God, I hope you're right" said Billy.

"So do I" replied Luc. They headed back to the mess tent.

Luc rejoined Eddie who was just finishing her breakfast. "What was all that about?" asked Eddie.

"Oh, I was just asking Tommy's doctor to perform another test on him" replied Luc innocently.

"You can't help yourself, can you?" replied Eddie smiling. Luc quickly ate his breakfast and they headed out of the mess tent.

They were heading to the hospital to start their shifts when Private Nicholson approached them. He saluted Luc and Eddie. "Camp Commander Davis would like a word with you both. Can you follow me?" asked Nicholson.

Luc and Eddie were brought into the Commander's office. Luc and Eddie saluted the Commander who saluted them back.

"Good morning, I'm afraid something has been brought to my attention and I need to ask you both if it is true" the commander said.

"Yes, Commander" replied Luc and Eddie in unison.

"I have been told that the two of you are in a romantic relationship with each other and as you know this is against the rules of the army. Is this true?" asked the commander.

Luc and Eddie looked at each other. "I'm afraid it is true commander" replied Luc, he didnt see the point in denying it.

"You are both very good at your jobs and your clinic trial is very important to the army, Dr Hemingway, so I am not going to report you. However, I must ask that one of you requests a transfer off this base immediately. I will give you 24 hours to decide which of you is to transfer" replied the commander.

"Yes, sir" replied Luc and Eddie in unison. They left the office in shock. However, as they left the commander's office a helicopter of injured soldiers landed on the helipad and they were both called into action treating them. They'd have to leave discussing their problem until later.

Chapter 16:

Later that day, Eddie had a few minutes to herself in the hospital. She had been thinking about Billy's son Tommy and something crossed her mind. She went to the hospital store cupboard and picked out a testing kit. She took it to the toilet with her. She sat looking at the result on the test kit in shock. Wow, I wasnt expecting that, she thought to herself. She smiled to herself.

After her shift was over, she made her way to the commander's office and asked to speak to him. She was leaving his office 10 minutes later when she ran into Luc.

"Hey, what were you doing in there?" Luc asked.

"Come on, we need to talk" replied Eddie as she caught Luc by the hand and lead him to his lab where she knew they could talk in private.

"Eddie, what's going on?" asked Luc nervously.

"I solved our problem, I handed in my resignation to the commander" she replied.

"Why, you didnt need to do that? One of us could have just transferred to Camp Bastion" he replied.

"Luc, I only have a few weeks left here and besides, I thought it was the best thing to do for the sake of the baby" she replied smiling.

"What baby?" asked Luc puzzled.

Eddie walked up to him and took his hand in her hand. She placed his hand on her stomach. "Our one in here" she said beaming.

"You mean you're..." asked Luc.

"Yep, I did a test earlier" she replied. "It must have happened that night in the hotel for your birthday" she continued.

Luc grabbed her and lifted her up off the ground, twirling her around. When he put her down, he kissed her passionately on the lips. When they had finished kissing she said "I take it you're happy about this then".

"The happiest man on the planet" Luc replied beaming.

When they had finished celebrating their news, Eddie explained that she would be leaving for the U.K. two days later with a group of soldiers who were returning home.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews, Holbyfan, this is dedicated to you. Hope you like it! E :)

Chapter 17:

Later that evening Luc and Eddie went to the mess tent as usual for dinner. Before they even got to the queue for the food counter Billy spotted them and came running over to them.

"Hi Billy, you look happier" said Eddie as he came over to them.

"Dr H, you're a genius!" exclaimed Billy before pulling Luc into an akward man-hug.

"You mean I was right about Tommy?" asked Luc.

"Yes, they've started treating him for that parasitic infection and he's already starting to look much better, Carol just called me half an hour ago and told me to say thank you to you and give you a big hug from her" replied Billy excitedly.

"I'm just glad I could help" replied Luc humbly.

"Thank you so much" replied Billy.

"My pleasure" replied Luc smiling.

"If there's ever anything I can do for either of you, please let me know" Billy said while shaking Luc's hand. Billy went back around the counter to go back to serving the food.

"I think you've got a fan there!" Eddie teased Luc.

"I was only doing my job" replied Luc innocently. Eddie grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Thank you" she said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being such a kind, caring man, of course" replied Eddie smiling. Luc just smiled back at her. They got their dinner and sat down to eat.

"So tomorrow is going to be your last day in the army, will you miss it?" asked Luc.

"I'll miss the people and the friends I've made but I wont miss the camp beds or toilets" she said. "I cant wait to get back to my house in Holby and sleep in my own bed again" she continued.

"I'm counting down the days to that myself" replied Luc. "Not too long to wait now, only 2 months left!" continued Luc smiling.

"I never thought to ask, what did you do with your campervan?" asked Eddie.

"It's parked up at my friend's estate in the country. He's looking after it for me while I'm here" replied Luc.

"There should be enough room to park it outside my house when you get it back" said Eddie.

"I'm not sure how long I'll keep it when I get home. I mean I'm sure we'll be living together when we get married. We probably wont need it anymore" replied Luc smiling.

Eddie smiled, she realised this was Luc's round about way of asking could he move in with her. "You can decide what you want to do when you get home, there's no rush" she replied smiling.

Just then Eddie spotted Liam coming into the mess tent. She stood up and beckoned him over, she needed to tell him her news. Liam came over to her.

"Hey sis, Hey Luc. What's up?" he asked.

"I've, well we've got some news" replied Eddie.

"Yeah, what's going on?" asked Liam.

"Liam, I've resigned from the army and I'll be going home the day after tomorrow" Eddie explained.

"But why? I thought you liked it here" asked Liam.

"Liam, you're going to be an uncle in about 6 months time. And Luc and I are getting married when he gets home" replied Eddie.

"Wow, I'm going to be an uncle, cool! A young mind to corrupt, that'll be fun!" Liam replied laughing.

"There'll be no corrupting any minds" Eddie replied sternly.

"Congratulations you two. Welcome to the family Luc. I always knew she'd tie you down eventually!" replied Liam smiling.

"Thanks" replied Luc.

"What time are you leaving at?" asked Liam.

"About 12 Midday, the day after tomorrow" replied Eddie.

"I think that's my day off, I'll see you then" replied Liam. He went off to join his mates for dinner.

"He took that better than I thought he would" Eddie said when he had left them.

"I suppose he realizes you have your own life to live now. Besides, he know's I'll look after you" replied Luc trying to reassure her.

"I suppose you're right" replied Eddie. "Come on, lets get out of here. Do you want to go for a walk?" she asked.

"Sure. I'll have to enjoy all the time I have left with you before you go and abandon me for 2 months" replied Luc smiling.

They walked over to their favourite spot beside the sand dunes. Luc sat down behind Eddie so that she was sitting in between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. He stroked her tummy lovingly.

"I wonder what our baby is going to be like?" he mused.

"I hope its as kind as you and has your beautiful eyes. I love your eyes" she said turning to look at Luc.

"I hope its as strong as you and has your ability to talk to anyone and isnt shy like me" replied Luc.

"Whatever its like, its going to be loved and adored. I promise you that" replied Eddie smiling.

"Yes, definately" replied Luc. He bent down and kissed Eddie's stomach making her giggle.

"That tickles! You do realise that the baby's only the size of a peanut right now and probably cant feel that right" she said.

"Yes, I know. It's the thought that counts" replied Luc smiling.

Eddie put her hands either side of Luc's face and kissed him. "I love you. I'm going to miss you so much when we're apart" she said with tears in her eyes.

"I'll miss you too, but it wont be for long and then we'll be together forever. We'll have so much to look forward to and so much fun raising our children. I can't wait" Luc replied before kissing her. They sat there on the sand watching the stars and the lights from Kabul flicker daydreaming about the life they had in front of them together.

Chapter 18:

The next morning Eddie started her final shift in the camp hospital, sad to be leaving all of her friends there behind but excited about going home to get ready for the baby to arrive and for Luc to come home to her. She did her rounds with the patients and laughed and joked with them and her colleagues. She'd miss working with Karen, she always managed to make her smile when she was feeling down and she'd miss arguing with Luc over the patients. Although, she'd probably have other things to argue with Luc about in the future. Word had spread around the hospital that it was her last day and everyone wished her well. She didnt tell people why she was leaving, just that she wanted to go home. She finished her shift and said goodbye to her patients for the final time with tears in her eyes.

Eddie and Luc went for their final dinner together in the mess hall. She told Billy she was going home, he was heartbroken of course.

"But who's going to give me my injections now?" he asked.

"Dont worry, Karen will be here for another 6 weeks, she'll do them for you. She's promised me she'll look after you for me" replied Eddie. "How's Tommy today?" she asked.

"Oh, he's much better. He was asking for ice-cream earlier today so I think that means he's nearly back to his old self" replied Billy smiling.

"That's great to hear, he's well on the road to recovery then" replied Eddie laughing.

"Yes, thanks to Dr H there" replied Billy smiling. Luc blushed.

They sat down and enjoyed their dinner and then left to go back to Eddie's tent where Karen had organized a small going away party for Eddie. They had a few drinks and told stories about their time in the camp together and some of the funny incidents that had happened to them in Camp Kabul. Later in the evening, Eddie and Luc left the party to go back to Luc's tent so they could spend some time alone together. Luc's tentmates were at the party.

Luc laid down on his bed and Eddie laid down on top of him. He pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead. Eddie put her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating.

"You know, I still cant believe that we found each other again in an army camp in the middle of Afghanistan. What are the odds of that happening?" she asked.

"I dont know, probably about a billion to one. I mean if the army hadn't shown an interest in my drugs trial I wouldn't be here and if Liam hadn't joined the army, you probably wouldn't be here either" replied Luc.

"Do you think we would have found each other again, if we hadn't met here?" Eddie asked.

"Yes, I think we would have. What's it they say, what's for you wont pass you by" replied Luc. "I probably would have come looking for you again anyway, I was so in love with you that I would have had to" he continued.

"Eddie, I loved you from the first time I met you on the roof of the hospital and I never stopped" he admitted.

"You loved me even though we did nothing but fight with each other all the time at the beginning?" she asked shocked.

"Yes, I guess that was my way of flirting with you. I'm weird, I know" he replied honestly.

"When I think back on it, I loved coming to work in those days just to get the chance to fight with you" she admitted smiling. "I guess fighting with you was my way of flirting with you too" she continued.

"What a pair of weirdos we are then! I wonder if Frieda or Sacha thought we'd end up having a baby together and getting married when they worked with us back then?" pondered Luc.

"They probably thought we'd be more likely to strangle each other than fall in love with each other" replied Eddie laughing.

Eddie wriggled up the bed until her face was level with Luc's face. She stroked his cheek and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I'm glad we didn't strangle each other, being lovers is so much more fun" she said seductively before kissing him passionately on the lips. They broke the camp's no sex rule for the one and only time that night. They quickly got re-dressed afterwards and Eddie left Luc's tent to go back to her tent for her final night's sleep in Camp Kabul.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for all the feedback. Sorry the last chapter was so soppy, i think it was because I was hungry! Have eaten first tonight. Anyway enjoy... E;)

Chapter 19:

Eddie woke up for the final time in Camp Kabul, still feeling nauseous but happy. She packed up her bags and left her tent to go meet Luc for their final breakfast together at the camp. She entered his tent but he wasnt there. Karl was the only one there.

"Hi Karl. Have you seen Luc?" she asked.

"Hi Eddie. He left a little while ago, he said he had something to do but that he'd meet you in the mess tent. Last day, hey? Are you looking forward to going home?" Karl asked.

"Yes and no. I'll miss you guys." she replied.

"Some more than others" said Karl smiling.

"I guess" Eddie replied smiling. "I'll see you before I go. I'm gonna go get breakfast" she continued before leaving the tent.

She made her way towards the mess tent and saw Luc standing outside talking to Private Nicholson.

"Morning" she said saluting them both.

"Good morning" replied Nicholson. "I'll leave you to it" he continued before walking off.

"Hi, How are you this morning?" Luc asked smiling.

"Still a bit nauseous, but I'm ok. All packed up" Eddie said.

"Lets go get some breakfast, there's a couple of things we need to talk about" replied Luc.

"Sounds ominous" replied Eddie slightly worried.

They made their way into the mess tent and queued up for breakfast. Billy looked at Eddie sadly when it came time to serve her.

"You're last breakfast with us!" he said sadly.

"Yes, I know. I'm really going to miss you Billy. I'll make sure Luc sends me updates on you for the next two months, I promise" replied Eddie smiling.

"He'd better" replied Billy in a happier mood.

He served them their breakfast and they went to sit down. They found a table at the back of the tent where they could be alone.

"I've been thinking" Luc said nervously.

"Always dangerous!" replied Eddie smirking.

Luc smiled and continued what he was going to say. "I'm going to get my bank to make my account into a joint one so that you can have access to my money while I'm here. I want you to be able to buy things for the house and the baby with it if you want. I'll get them to send you out an ATM card for it. Is that ok?" he asked.

"Wuhoo! Next stop Ikea and Mothercare" replied Eddie laughing.

"Eddie, I'm being serious!" replied Luc.

"I'm only kidding, thank you" she said grabbing his hand. "But you know you dont have to do that, I have my own money, you know" she continued.

"Yes, but I want to feel like I'm contributing" Luc replied. "I've also got the army to change my records so that you and the baby are my next of kin, if anything happens" he continued.

"Ok. But nothings going to happen, right?" Eddie said nervously.

"Course its not, but I wanted to have it sorted out anyway" he replied smiling.

"Ok" she said. "Can we stop being grown-ups now?" she asked.

"When have you ever acted like a grown-up?" replied Luc smiling.

"This from a person who lives in a campervan!" replied Eddie sarcastically.

"Touche!" replied Luc.

They finished their breakfasts and left the mess hall. Eddie had to go to the admin tent to sort out some paperwork and Luc headed for the hospital to start his shift. Eddie promised to come see him in the hospital when she was finished what she was doing.

Twelve Midday came around all too quiclkly. Eddie, Luc and Liam made their way to the helipad. Eddie had already said an emotional good-bye to Karen, they promised they'd meet up in the U.K. when Karen got back 6 weeks later.

The time came for her to say goodbye to Liam, she grabbed him and hugged him tight.

"Take care of yourself bro. You know I love you and there will always be a bed for you at my house, dont you?" she said with tears streaming down her face.

"I love you too, sis. Take care of yourself and the little monster. Dont worry, I'll look after Luc for you and we'll see you in two months" Liam whispered. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and a final hug and stepped away.

The time came to say goodbye to Luc. Eddie really didnt want to. Both of them had tears streaming down their faces.

"See you in two months, my love. I promise I'll email you every day. Look after our little monster wont you" Luc said.

"Take care my love. Talk to you tomorrow, promise. Stay safe. Please promise me you'll look after Liam for me" Eddie said.

"I promise. I love you!" replied Luc before kissing her passionately.

"I love you too" replied Eddie before kissing him again.

Luc bent down and kissed Eddie's stomach. "Love you little monster" he whispered to it. He gave Eddie one last kiss on the lips and she turned around and got on the waiting helicopter. The helicopter took off. Luc and Liam stood there waving at the helicopter until it had vanished from view.

Chapter 20:

Eddie arrived back in her house in Holby almost 24 hours later. She was exhausted and felt like she had stopped off in every country between Afghanistan and England. She hadnt felt like going to the welcome home party for the troops, she just hopped on a train and got back to Holby as quickly as she could. She was glad her tenants had wanted to move out of her house earlier than expected. They had left it clean for her at least. Her bed wasnt made so she just grabbed a duvet and laid down on the couch. She slept for twelve hours only waking up because she was hungry. She ordered a pizza and sat down to eat it in front of her laptop. She checked her email. Luc had emailed her already. She wrote back, telling him all about the journey home.

Over the next five weeks Eddie and Luc got into a routine of emailing each other every day. Eddie had adjusted to life back in the U.K. and had set about having the house redecorated, all except the room that was going to be the nursery, she wanted to leave that for her and Luc to do together when he got home. She sent Luc pictures of new furniture she wanted to buy and pictures of paint colours for the different rooms in the house. Luc would tell her if he liked them or not. Eddie also sent him updates on the baby, "bumpwatch" she called it. Sending him daily updates on how the bump was that day and lots of pictures. When she had her first scan she ran home and immediately sent Luc a picture of the scan. He printed it out and put it up on his desk in his lab.

Meanwhile back in Camp Kabul, Luc and his fellow medics were kept busy looking after the soldiers. There had been numerous attacks on the troops in the last few weeks. Despite this, the soldiers and staff at the base were still allowed their free passes for the green zone. Luc decided to use his last free pass and went to the green zone to run a few errands. Karen had told him about a very good jewellers in the green zone and he decided to get Eddie's engagement ring there. He picked out an unusual ring that he thought she'd like and got it for her. He strolled around the green zone for a while browsing in some book shops. He came across the hotel where they'd stayed for his birthday and smiled, thinking back on that night they'd spent there. He went into the hotel gift shop and bought a towel and a rubber duck with the hotel's name on them. He thought they'd be funny souvenirs to bring home to Eddie. He had a meal in the restaurant beside the hotel where him and Eddie had eaten that night. After his meal, he went back to the meeting place and waited for the convoy back to the base. Liam was working at the check point beside the meeting point that night. He spotted Luc and went over to him.

"Hi Luc" he said.

"Oh, Hi Liam" Luc said putting down a book he was reading.

"Did you enjoy your last night out in the green zone?" asked Liam.

"It was ok. Not as much fun as when I came here with Eddie" replied Luc.

"How's she doing?" asked Liam.

"She's great. She's nearly finished redecorating the house. Her bump is getting bigger almost daily" replied Luc smiling.

"I never thought of my sister as the DIY type. I bet she's picking out things like illuminous green sofas and bright pink paint for the walls" replied Liam smiling.

"I've had to suggest she tones down some of the colours for the walls alright" replied Luc laughing. "She's only doing it to pass the time until we get home" continued Luc.

"I suppose you have to do something to keep yourself occupied when you're not working" replied Liam.

"Have you got long left on your shift tonight?" asked Luc.

"Not long, I'll be heading back to base with you guys shortly" replied Liam.

"Oh, good. By the way, what do you think of this?" asked Luc as he pulled the ring box out of his jacket's inside pocket. He showed the ring to Liam.

"Not my style mate! But I'd say Eddie will love it, it's just her taste" replied Liam smiling.

"Excellent" replied Luc.

"You're really going to go ahead with it then and marry my sister?" asked Liam.

"Of course I am, hopefully before the baby's born" replied Luc sincerely.

"Good, she deserves to be happy after all we've been through" replied Liam.

"Yes, she does" replied Luc.

Just then the army landrovers that were to take them back to base arrived and Liam had to go back to work. A few minutes later, Luc and Liam got into one of the landrovers and headed back to camp.


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks for the reviews, I cant believe the story is going on this long, but hey as long as some of you are enjoying it. Am trying to get it finished before next week if I can. Hope you enjoy this bit...E :)

Chapter 21:

It was cramped inside the landrover. Luc and Liam were sitting in the back of it across from Liam's mates Danno and Razor. There were two other staff members from the Camp in the landrover with them. Luc really didnt like the confined space, it was making him anxious, he chatted to Liam to try to take his mind off it.

"Are you looking forward to becoming an uncle Liam?" Luc asked.

"Yeah, it'll be cool. Although I'm not sure how good I'll be with the baby when its very small, I'm not sure I'll know how to hold it properly and all that" replied Liam.

"It's ok, Eddie and I will show you all that. It'll be good fun when the baby gets older and we can play football with him or her" replied Luc.

"We'll have to keep up the McKee family tradition of bringing him or her to see a Leeds United match. Dad brought me and Eddie to a few matches when we were kids. We'd go to the match and get fish and chips on the way home. We both loved going as kids" replied Liam with a sadness to his voice.

"That'll be great. I've never been to a proper football match myself. I'm sure Eddie would love to go to one again too. That's definately a tradition we can continue" replied Luc smiling.

"Are you sure Leeds United will still have a team in a few years time?" interrupted Liam's mate Danno sarcastically.

"Course they will, they'll be back up the league by then" replied Liam with conviction.

"Dont mind Danno, he's a Man Utd fan. He looks down his nose at all the other Northern teams" Liam explained to Luc.

Luc was amused at the banter that went on between Liam and his mates. He was glad that it seemed like Liam had some good friends that he could rely on.

They were almost half way back to camp when they heard gunfire outside the landrover. Liam told Luc and the others to get down and a second later there was a massive explosion.

Luc blacked out. A few minutes later he came to. He felt like he was deaf and his vision was blurred. He gradually regained his senses and started to feel an excruciating pain coming from his thigh. He looked down and saw a large piece of jagged metal sticking out of his leg, he pulled it out and blood started pouring from the wound. He ripped off the bottom of his t-shirt and tied it round the wound. He saw another jagged piece of metal sticking out of his chest, it was sticking out of his jacket. He put his hand in under the jacket but there was no blood. He pulled the piece of metal off his jacket and put his hand inside the jacket pocket. He took out the ring box and there was a massive gash in it. Wow, he thought, I think the ring box just saved my life.

He straightened himself up and looked around. Liam was lying partially on top of him, he gently got out from under Liam and checked on him. Liam was unconscious and badly injured. He had wounds to the stomach and chest and he was bleeding heavily. The others in what was left of the back of the landrover were starting to come round and were crying out.

Suddenly, there was a blast of light as a soldier opened the back doors of the landrover. "We need some help in here" screamed Luc. The two staff members who were seated nearest the back doors were only slightly injured and got out of the landrover. Some soldiers climed into the back of the landrover and started checking Razor and Danno.

"Are they still breathing?" asked Luc.

"This one is, the other one isnt" replied one of the soldiers. Razor, who had been sitting opposite Liam was dead but Danno who had been sitting opposite Luc was still alive. The front of the landrover had taken the brunt of the explosion.

"We need to get them out of here" cried Luc desperately. The soldiers hurriedly lifted all 3 of them out of the landrover after Luc had climbed out. Luc could hear shots being fired in the distance.

"What's going on?" asked Luc in a panic.

"That's some of our mates going after our attackers" replied one of the soldiers. Luc turned his attention to Liam and Danno, they were both badly wounded. He checked Danno and instructed one of the soldiers with him how to look after some of Danno's wounds.

Luc went back to Liam. He needed to stop some of the bleeding from his wounds. He went back into the landrover and retrieved the bag he had with him and took out the souvenir towel he'd bought. He tore it into strips and began tying the strips around Liam's leg and arm injuries to stop them bleeding.

"We need to get these two to hospital now!" Luc shouted at the soldiers beside him.

"There's a helicopter on its way, it'll be here in 5 minutes" replied one of the soldiers.

Luc tried his best to stop the blood coming out of Liam's injuries. "Come on Liam, stay with me" he shouted at him over and over again.

Finally, the helicopter arrived and a medic came over to help Luc with Liam. "He needs fluids now" instructed Luc. The medic attached a drip to Liam's arm. They loaded Liam onto a stretcher and brought him to the waiting helicopter. Danno was already in the helicopter. Luc climbed into the helicopter and accompanied them back to base, desperately trying to keep them alive with the help of the medics.

Chapter 22:

Liam and Danno were rushed into theatre the minute they got back to the camp hospital. Karl was operating on Danno, Luc knew he would be in good hands. Luc quickly got scrubbed up and joined Karen in the operating theatre to set to work on Liam's injuries.

Luc assessed Liam's injuries. He managed to clamp the source of the bleeding from Liam's chest so that he could leave that to be repaired later as the stomach injury was more severe. Luc went about repairing the stomach wound. He instructed Karen to give Liam some of their trial drug.

Luc repaired the stomach wounds as best he could and then went back to the chest wound. Luc was halfway through repairing the chest wound when Liam flatlined.

"Give him adrenaline and get me the defibrillator now" cried Luc. Karen injected the adrenaline into Liam's arm. Luc shocked Liam and his heart restarted.

"Liam, dont scare me like that!" Luc cried. Luc continued repairing Liam's chest wound. Liam survived the surgery to Luc's relief. He was transferred to the intensive care ward in the hospital.

Luc breathed a sigh of relief but knew that the next 24 hrs would be critical. Karen came over to Luc.

"That was good work you did in there, but I think we need to look after you now" she said to Luc. He had forgotten about his own injury. Karen took Luc into one of the treatment rooms and cleaned and dressed his leg injury for him.

"Are you going to call Eddie and tell her about Liam?" Karen asked.

"I'm not sure if I should, it's still touch and go with him. It wouldn't be good to upset her in her condition. I think I'll see how he is in a few hours and then tell her" replied Luc.

"I think she'd like to know. What if she hears about the attack on the news?" asked Karen.

"Maybe you're right. I'll call her" replied Luc.

Luc went to the doctors office and took a deep breath before dialing Eddie's mobile number. She picked up after the fourth ring.

"Hello" said Eddie.

"Hi Eddie, it's Luc" he replied.

"Hey sweetheart, this is a nice surprise. You weren't supposed to call me until tomorrow" she replied happily.

"Eddie, something's happened" Luc replied seriously.

"What's wrong? Is it Liam?" she asked worried.

"We were on the way back from the green zone when our landrover was blown up. Liam was badly injured but he's still alive. I've just finished working on him in theatre" replied Luc sadly.

"Oh, my god!" cried Eddie. Luc could hear her crying on the other end of the line.

"Sweetheart, I want you to know that he's fighting as hard as he can and we'll do everything possible for him, I promise" replied Luc.

"Please Luc, I can't loose him, he's all I've got" Eddie sobbed.

"I know, sweetheart, I know. I'll do everything I can, I promise" replied Luc.

"Promise me you'll keep him alive?" Eddie asked sobbing.

"I promise" replied Luc in a heartfelt tone.

"Thank you" Eddie sobbed.

"I'm going to go back to his bedside now. Try not to worry. I love you" replied Luc.

"I love you too. Call me as soon as there's any news, ok?" Eddie asked.

"I will. Bye sweetheart" Luc replied.

"Bye sweetheart" replied Eddie and then she was gone off the line. Luc went back to Liam's bedside and sat down beside him in a chair.

A few hours later Luc was woken up by someone calling his name. He'd fallen asleep in the chair beside Liam. Luc looked at Liam, he was conscious.

"Liam!" Luc exclaimed.

"Luc, I'm not going to make it, I know I'm not" Liam whispered.

"Course you are" replied Luc smiling.

"Promise me you'll look after Eddie and the baby and tell them I love them" Liam whispered.

"You'll be able to tell them yourself" replied Luc. Just then the monitors attached to Liam started blaring, he crashed.

Nurses and doctors came running towards Liam's bed as Luc performed CPR on him. They tried desperately to bring Liam back but it was all in vain. Twenty minutes later the doctor on duty called it. "Time of death 5.31 pm" the doctor said solemly.

"No, no, no, it cant be! We have to keep trying" cried Luc.

"I'm sorry. It's too late. He's gone" replied the doctor. Luc collapsed into the chair sobbing, he was inconsolable.

An hour later Luc made the worst telephone call of his life. He had to tell the woman he loved that he'd broken his promise to her and that her brother was dead, despite all his efforts to save him. Needless to say, Eddie was devastated and dropped the phone the minute he told her. Luc wearily went back to his tent and dropped down onto his bed exhausted and devastated. He fell asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

You lucky things, I've decided to do 2 chapters today as I had some spare time and I'm really enjoying writing this!  
E :)

Chapter 23:

The next three weeks were torture to Luc. He had to miss Liam's funeral back in the England as the army wouldn't let him go home for it because he wasn't related to Liam. Eddie wouldnt take his telephone calls as she was blaming him for not keeping his promise to her and keeping Liam alive. He had to watch as his friends in the base all left to go back to the U.K. There was only Billy left now. Billy tried to console Luc as best he could. He even gave Luc a thank you letter that his children had written to Luc to thank him for helping cure little Tommy when he'd been sick. This made Luc smile. Luc still emailed Eddie every day, pouring out his heart to her and telling her how sorry he was but he knew she wasnt reading them. His only consolation was that Sacha and Chrissie were keeping him updated about Eddie, they were looking after her for him. The day finally came for him to leave Camp Kabul. Luc packed up all his research papers and his belongings and gladly got on the helicopter that would be the first part of his journey home. Home to England and the unknown. He didnt know who, if anyone, would be waiting for him when he got home.

Meanwhile back in England, it was the day before Luc was due back and Eddie was still devastated about Liam. She was walking around like a zombie, only eating and sleeping because she had to for the sake of the baby. Sacha and Chrissie had been very good to her, inviting her around for dinner and helping her as best they could. Eddie was just getting some breakfast when the doorbell rang, she wasnt expecting anyone. She opened the door to a face she hadnt seen in over six weeks.

"Karen!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Hi Eddie" replied Karen. Karen gave Eddie a big hug.

"How are you?" asked Eddie.

"I'm good. Sorry I haven't come to see you sooner but my dad wasn't well" Karen said apologising.

"How are you?" asked Karen sadly as Eddie showed her into the sitting room.

"I'm ok. Doing as well as can be expected really. It's hard but I'm trying" Eddie replied. "How's your dad?" continued Eddie.

"He's alot better now. He had a mild heart attack but he's getting over it" Karen explained.

"That's good to hear" replied Eddie.

"How's Luc? He's due home tomorrow, you must be excited" asked Karen.

"I dont know, I haven't spoken to him since Liam" Eddie admitted sadly.

"Eddie, what are you doing? I was there, Luc did everything he could to save Liam. He even operated on Liam when he was injured himself. Eddie, he's the father of your baby and he loves you dearly. Please dont keep blaming him" Karen pleaded.

"Luc was injured in the explosion?" asked Eddie shocked. She felt ashamed at the way she had been treating him.

"Yes, his leg was badly injured but he still operated on Liam" replied Karen.

"Oh, god. I've been so horrible to him. Will he ever forgive me?" asked Eddie with tears in her eyes. "I need to call him" continued Eddie.

"You wont be able to, he'll be on his way home by now" replied Karen. "The only thing you can do is go meet him at the base tomorrow when he gets back" continued Karen.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it on time, I have to go for a scan tomorrow" replied Eddie.

"I'm sure he wont mind if you're a bit late" replied Karen smiling.

Karen left Eddie about 2 hours later after they had a long chat and numerous cups of tea. Eddie went shopping, she decided she needed to get some food in. She got the house ready for Luc's return the following day. She went to bed that night feeling happier than she had in a while. She was going to make things better with Luc, she promised herself.

Chapter 24:

The plane touched down at an RAF base and Luc and his fellow soldiers and medics were finally back on English soil. They disembarked the plane onto a bus that was waiting to take them back to their home base to meet their families and friends. Luc was exhausted but glad to be home. Two hours later their bus arrived at the base. The soldiers got off the bus excitedly, making their way to their waiting families.

Luc watched as Billy, who had been on the flight with him, ran over to his wife Carol and his children. Luc scanned the crowd to see if he could see a familiar face but there was no-one waiting for him. He got off the bus and grabbed his bag. Billy came running over to him.

"Luc, please come and meet my family. Carol wants to thank you for helping Tommy" Billy said excitedly.

"It'd be my pleasure" replied Luc smiling.

Luc walked over to them and Carol immediately gave him a big hug. "Thank you for helping cure our Tommy!" Carol exclaimed.

"It was nothing" replied Luc humbly "All part of the job" he continued.

Billy introduced the children to Luc and handed Tommy to him to say hello to. Tommy said a broken thank you to Luc and Luc laughed, telling him how well he looked now. After a few minutes, Billy and his family left to go into the welcome home party and Luc said goodbye to them.

Luc didnt feel like joining the party so went over to a bench beside one of the buildings and sat down. It was now over half an hour after they had arrived back and there was no sign of Eddie. Luc was devastated. He sat on the bench with his head in his hands, quietly crying.

A female figure quietly waddled up to the bench and sat down beside him. She put her hand on the back of his neck, stroking it lovingly.

Luc looked up through tear stained eyes at Eddie's beautiful face and a smile came over his face.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to go to the hospital for a scan" she explained smiling. She took his face in her hands and kissed him passionately. Luc pulled away.

"I'm sorry about Liam, I tried, I really did" Luc said, tears falling from his eyes.

"I know you did. Karen came to see me yesterday and she told me everything. I'm sorry I blamed you, I shouldn't have. Forgive me? she asked.

Luc didnt answer, he just grabbed her and pulled her to him as tightly as he could, kissing her passionately. He pulled back a few minutes later and looked down at her stomach. Patting it.

"Wow, you've gotten big" he said smiling.

"I've got something to show you" said Eddie pulling the lastest scan pictures from her handbag. She handed them to Luc.

Luc looked at the pictures and looked back up at Eddie with a puzzled expression.

"Why is there two pictures and one seems to be a boy and one a girl? he asked.

"Brace yourself. We're having twins!" Eddie exclaimed.

"What?" asked Luc shocked.

"Yes, its twins. Apparently, they didnt show up on the last scan because one was on top of the other. But they've moved apart because they're bigger now" replied Eddie beaming.

"Wow, twins. That'll be fun!" exclaimed Luc smiling.

"Tell me about it! I thought giving birth to one was going to be bad but two..." Eddie replied.

"It'll be fine, dont worry" replied Luc.

"It's ok for you, you're not going to be the one pushing two babies out of your unmentionable parts!" exclaimed Eddie.

"You know I'd swap places with you if I could" replied Luc.

"Yeah, right!" replied Eddie sarcastically.

Luc grabbed her and pulled her close. He kissed her on the lips and then bent down and kissed her bump. He got to his feet.

"Come on. Lets go join the party. I think Billy wants to introduce you to his family" replied Luc as he helped Eddie up off the bench.


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for the lovely reviews. Its coming near the end. Hope you're still enjoying it. E :)

Chapter 25:

Luc woke up the next morning in a comfortable bed in a bedroom he didn't recognise with lilac coloured walls. He looked around and tried to remember the previous night. He remembered going to the welcome home party and vaguely remembered the drive home, although not the whole of it. He looked down at himself, he was dressed in a tshirt and boxers. He turned over in the bed and bumped into Eddie who was curled up asleep beside him. He curled up behind her, spooning her, smiled, and went back to sleep.

It was almost one o'clock in the afternoon the next time he woke up. He was still lying beside Eddie. He reached down and stroked her belly, smiling when he remembered what she had told him the day before. Eddie started to stir. Luc reached over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Morning, my love" he whispered to her.

"Morning" she replied sleepily. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Nearly one in the afternoon" Luc replied after looking at the alarm clock.

"Wow, I didnt mean to sleep that long" Eddie said while she stretched in the bed.

"Looks like we both needed it though" replied Luc. "How are the babies this afternoon?" Luc asked while rubbing her bump.

"Hungry" replied Eddie.

"Stay right where you are. Breakfast for four coming right up. Now where's the kitchen again?" Luc asked as he jumped up out of bed.

"Downstairs" replied Eddie smiling. "Scrambled eggs on toast please" she shouted after him.

About 20 minutes later Luc arrived back up in the bedroom with a tray containing two large portions of scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice, and two large mugs of tea. He put the tray down on the bottom of the bed and went rummaging around in his rucksack for something.

"What are you looking for?" asked Eddie.

"It's a surprise" replied Luc. He found what he was looking for and picked up the tray again. He brought the tray up beside Eddie and placed it in the middle of the bed. They both sat on the bed and ate their breakfasts.

"You know a girl could get used to breakfast in bed" she said smiling.

"Could she now?" replied Luc. "I think we could manage it once or twice a week at least until the babies are born" he continued.

"What, only until the babies come? That doesnt seem fair" Eddie replied.

"Although, we could make it a more regular thing if we put it in the contract" replied Luc cryptically.

"What contract?" asked Eddie puzzled.

"The marriage contract of course" replied Luc smirking.

"You mean put it in the wedding vows" replied Eddie laughing. "Can you imagine that? Love, honour, obey and bring you breakfast in bed twice a week" she continued laughing.

"Why not? Lots of people make up their own vows these days, why couldn't we?" asked Luc.

"I suppose we could. There's just one problem, we're not officially engaged yet" replied Eddie.

"That can soon be rectified. I think there's something behind your glass of juice on the tray that might help with that" replied Luc smirking.

Eddie moved the glass out of the way and spotted the battered looking ring box on the tray. She picked it up and looked at the box.

"It looks like it's been through the wars" she said smiling.

"Sorry, it got a bit damaged during the explosion. I was actually lucky it was in my pocket, if it hadnt been I might not still be here" explained Luc.

"Why?" asked Eddie concerned.

"Well, I woke up after the explosion to find a piece of metal sticking out of my chest. Luckily, it wasn't stuck in my actual chest because the ring box stopped it. It saved my life" replied Luc.

"God, that was lucky" replied Eddie.

"Tell me about it! Go on, open the box" demanded Luc.

Eddie opened the box and gasped. "Wow, that's lovely" she said. Inside was a silver ring with 5 little love hearts in a row on top. Each heart containing a different stone, diamonds, rubies or emeralds.

Luc moved the tray down to the bottom of the bed and moved over beside her. "Aren't you going to try it on?" he asked.

"Dont you have to ask me a question first?" asked Eddie.

"What, you're going to make me ask again?" asked Luc. Eddie nodded.

"Ok. Eddie McKee, mother of my children, love of my life. Marry me?" he asked.

"Yes!" exclaimed Eddie before pulling him into a passionate kiss. Luc took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger.

"Fits perfectly. I love it!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Liam thought you might" replied Luc.

"You showed it to Liam?" she asked sadly.

"Yes, just before we got into the landrovers to head back to base" replied Luc sadly. Eddie started to cry. Luc put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry sweetie. I want you to know something. The last thing he said to me was that I had to look after you and the baby and that I was to tell you two that he loved you very much" replied Luc consoling her.

"Really?" Eddie sobbed.

"Yes, really" replied Luc. After a few minutes Luc began to speak.

"Eddie, I've been thinking. What do you think about calling the boy baby Liam?" he asked.

"I'm not sure" replied Eddie.

"We dont have to if it would be too painful for you. But I think Liam would have liked it. We could tell baby Liam all about his uncle Liam when he gets older. What do you think? Luc replied.

"Yes, I think he would have liked that too. Liam Hemingway, it sounds good" replied Eddie brightening up.

"All we need now is a girl's name then" replied Luc.

"Well, shouldn't we name her after someone you loved?" asked Eddie. "I was thinking it might be fitting to name her Elise. After all, your Elise died a hero like our Liam and I think we should remember her too. What do you think?" asked Eddie.

"I think that's a very good idea. Elise would have loved that" replied Luc with a sad smile.

"Are you sure?" asked Eddie.

"Yes, I'm sure. Elise and Liam Hemingway it is then!" he exclaimed.

Luc bent down and kissed Eddie's bump. "Love you Liam and Elise" he whispered to it. Luc sat back up beside Eddie and gave her a kiss. "What do you want to do for the rest of the day? he asked.

"Stay in bed with my future husband" replied Eddie smirking. Eddie raised herself up onto her knees and moved over on top of Luc straddling him. She kissed him softly on the lips. "Time for some adult fun!" she exclaimed before pulling off Luc's t-shirt.


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry for the delay in updating this. Just got the keys to my new house, lots of cleaning and picking out tiles to be done! Hope you enjoy this next bit.

Chapter 27:

That evening Eddie and Luc finally got out of bed at around 7 pm after watching tv in bed for a while. They called and ordered a pizza for dinner. They sat down on Eddie's new sofa in the sitting room, a bright green one just as Liam had predicted, and started watching a soppy romantic film. The film ended with the leading lady and man getting married and this prompted Luc to ask a question.

"Eddie, when do you want to get married?" he asked while stroking Eddie's hair. She was lying on top of him on the couch.

"As soon as we can. I dont really want to be a big fat whale waddling down the aisle, so we'll have to make it soon, I'm starting to waddle already!" she replied.

"Hey, that's my future wife you're talking about!" exclaimed Luc. "You'll never be a big fat whale, a large dolphin perhaps" he replied jokingly. Eddie promptly gave him a smack on the arm.

"Thank you very much!" she replied sarcastically.

"So we'll have to arrange it for soon then. I wonder if we can arrange it for the end of the week, before I go back to work next week" Luc pondered.

"Sounds good to me, the sooner the better" replied Eddie.

The following morning Eddie and Luc went to the registry office to find out about getting married. The registrar said they could get married the following Friday once the paperwork was sorted out and they could find a venue to have the wedding. Luc told Eddie he would make all the arrangements, he knew just the place to have the ceremony. All Eddie had to worry about was getting herself something nice to wear and turning up on time. Luc contacted all of their friends and asked them to meet them on Friday at 7 pm at Albies.

It was a sunny May Friday evening in Holby, Luc and Eddies friends all met at Albies as requested. Luc met their friends and brought them to the wedding venue. Eddie was being brought along a few minutes later by Frieda and Chantelle who had been let in on the surprise. They met Eddie at Albies and blindfolded her walking her to the venue, one of them taking hold of each arm.

Frieda and Chantelle guided Eddie into the hospital and into the lift, they got out at the top floor and walked out onto the roof. When they got out onto the roof, they took off the blindfold to reveal an aisle marked out with candles and an archway covered in flowers with Sacha, Luc and the registrar standing in front of it. The sun was just setting casting a bright orange light on the scene. Eddie gasped at the sight.

The bridesmaids Chantelle and Frieda walked down the aisle in front of Eddie clutching their bunches of flowers. Eddie walked down the aisle to meet Luc as the wedding march played.

Luc and Eddie exchanged their vows, with Luc whispering something into Eddie's ear while saying his vows. They exchanged wedding rings and Luc kissed his bride to the sound of claps and cheers.

While they were having photos taken Eddie whispered to her new husband "How ever did you get an archway onto the roof?"

"I had a little help from the porters, some of them built it especially for us" whispered Luc.

"That was nice of them. Oh, and by the way, I'm going to hold you to that promise of breakfast in bed once a week" she replied smiling.

"It'll be my pleasure, Mrs Hemingway!" replied Luc smiling.

"I love it when you call me that!" replied Eddie before planting a kiss on her new husband's lips.

Eddie, Luc and their friends went back to Albies for the wedding dinner and partied into the small hours. Sacha, Chrissie and Michael presented Luc and Eddie with a trip to Paris for 2 nights by Eurostar as their wedding present to them. Luc and Eddie headed to Paris for their honeymoon the next day. Luc settled back into work in AAU the following week. There was still alot of paperwork to do for their drug trial, analyzing their results. Luc recruited Eddie to help with the trial, she was responsible for following up with all of the soldiers who had received the drug and getting their subsequent medical information from them. This gave her something to occupy herself with while she waited for the babies to arrive.

Chapter 28:

It was a Wednesday night about 10 weeks later. Luc arrived home after a long shift in AAU exhausted, it was 10 O'clock at night. He entered his bedroom quietly as Eddie was already in bed. He went over to check on her, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead when he realised she was asleep. He was glad she was asleep, she wasnt getting much of it lately as being heavily pregnant was causing her to be really uncomfortable. He quietly undressed and got into bed lying behind her spooning her. Eddie mumbled as Luc draped his arm over her. He went to sleep.

A few hours later Eddie shook Luc awake. "Luc, wake up!" Eddie cried.

Luc sleepily opened his eyes. "What? What is it?" he asked.

"Luc, it's the babies, I think they're coming and soon!" Eddie cried just before squealing in pain from a contraction.

"They couldnt be, you've only just started labour havent you?" he asked confused.

"I'm not sure, I was having pains all day but I thought they were just Braxton-Hicks contractions and then they stopped so I went to bed" cried Eddie panic stricken.

"You're labour must have stopped. How far along do you think you are?" asked Luc panicing.

"I think I can feel a head coming!" cried Eddie.

"Ok, calm down. Looks like we're going to be delivering the babies ourselves then" replied Luc. He ran out to the hot press and grabbed some towels while Eddie removed the bottom of her pyjamas and her pants, she covered herself with a sheet. Luc took a look under the sheet.

"Yes, I can see a head, no time to call an ambulance now" he replied.

"Ok, push on your next contraction" he instructed.

Eddie squealed in pain and the baby's head emerged. "Ok, give me another push and the baby will be out" said Luc as he grabbed Eddie's hand. The next contraction came and the baby was delivered.

Luc gently lowered the baby onto a towel and dried it off. "It's a girl, it's little Elise" Luc exclaimed with tears in his eyes. He tied off and cut the umbylical cord and handed the baby to Eddie.

"Oh, my god. She's beautiful" exclaimed Eddie before giving her daughter a kiss. Eddie gripped onto Elise tight as another contraction ripped through her body.

"Ok, here we go, round two!" exclaimed Luc. "Ok, I can see another head coming" he continued.

Eddie took some deep breaths and another contraction came.

"Stop pushing, stop pushing!" cried Luc. The umbylical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck and Luc gently removed it.

"What's wrong?" cried Eddie.

"It's ok, it was just the cord tangled up but I fixed it" replied Luc. Another contraction came and another baby emerged from under the sheet. Luc wrapped the baby in another towel.

"It's a boy, it's little Liam" he said whilst cutting the cord. Luc handed Eddie their son before sorting out the afterbirth. He joined Eddie at the top of the bed. He looked down at his son and daughter with tears falling from his eyes.

"They're so beautiful!" he exclaimed before kissing Eddie on the forehead.

"Oh my god, I cant believe their ours!" cried Eddie, tears flowing down her face. Luc and Eddie sat cuddled up beside each other on their bed looking down at their children in awe.

"Didn't I tell you we'd have the cutest kids ever?" Luc said a few minutes later.

"Yes, you did" replied Eddie. Luc leaned over and kissed Eddie on the lips.

"I think its time we got you three checked out in hospital. I'll call an ambulance" Luc said.

Three days later, Eddie and the babies were released from hospital after being given the all clear. Later that night, Eddie walked into her bedroom to find Luc standing looking down at Liam and Elise fast asleep in their baby baskets. Eddie walked up behind Luc wrapping her arms around him. She kissed him on the shoulder.

"Do you think we'll be good parents?" he asked after a few minutes.

"We'll be fine. As long as we dont treat them the way our parents treated us, we'll be ok" replied Eddie.

"What if they grow up to hate us?" asked Luc.

"They wont" replied Eddie.

"How do you know they wont?" asked Luc.

"Because we're going to love them and show them how to love everyone else" replied Eddie.

"Are you sure that'll work?" asked Luc.

"Yes, I'm positive" replied Eddie. She walked around in front of Luc and put her arms around his neck. She pulled him close and kissed him on the lips. "You're going to be a wonderful father" she said to Luc.

"How do you know that?" asked Luc.

"Because they're not even 4 days old yet and you're fretting about them already" replied Eddie smiling. She kissed Luc again.

"Come on, its time for bed. Our children will be looking for their next feed in 4 hours time and it'll be your turn to feed them" said Eddie.

"How come it's my turn again, I just fed them last time" replied Luc puzzled.

"Because I said so" replied Eddie.

"That doesnt seem fair" replied Luc.

"What's fairness got to do with it? Who was the one who carried them around for 8 and a half months and gave birth to them 4 days ago?" asked Eddie.

"Ok, ok. Point taken" replied Luc smiling. He kissed Eddie on the lips. "Thank you" he said.

"For what?" asked Eddie.

"For being my wife and having my children" he replied.

"My pleasure. Now can you please stop being so soppy, you'd swear it was you who was the hormonal one in the family" she replied smiling. "Man up!" Eddie demanded.


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for all the lovely reviews, I fear this may be the last chapter. I cant believe its gone on this long and that so many of you liked it. Thanks and Hugs to all. E. :)

Chapter 29:

It was four years later. A four year old girl and boy went running down the corridor of the hospital towards AAU shouting as they went.

"Liam and Elise Hemingway, stop right now!" shouted Eddie as she waddled down the corridor desperately trying to catch up with them.

Liam and Elise stopped dead on the spot. They knew from past experience that when their mother called them their full names they were in trouble and they'd better obey her.

"What did I tell you two, no running in the hospital" Eddie said sternly. "That's it, no ice-cream for you on the way home" Eddie continued.

"Ah, but mum. You promised" they replied in unison.

"I said you'd only get ice-cream if you were good" replied Eddie. "If you behave yourselves in the ward, I might reconsider" continued Eddie.

"We promise we'll be good" replied Elise after she looked at Liam.

"You'd better be. Now lets go see your dad" Eddie said as she took them each by the hand and walked towards the AAU doors. A porter leaving the ward let them in. Liam and Elise held Eddie's hands until they got inside the doors and they spotted Sacha.

"Uncle Sacha, Uncle sacha!" they exclaimed in unison as they ran towards Sacha who was standing just beyond the nurses station. Sacha knelt down and grabbed them both into a big bear hug.

Luc had been standing just outside the office door and watched as his children ran right past him to their Uncle Sacha.

"Traitors!" he mumbled to himself as his children ignored him. Eddie waddled over to Luc.

"Hi sweetheart, they were driving me mad. I thought the walk over here might ware them out a bit" she said before giving Luc a kiss.

"Hi my love. How are you feeling?" Luc asked while stroking Eddie's bump.

"Like a beached whale, can't you induce me? I just want this baby out of me" she cried stroking her sore back.

"Eddie, you've got over a month to go yet, you know I can't. Besides, you know you can't rush us Hemingway men. Junior will come when he's good and ready" replied Luc smiling.

"Dont you smile at me like that, it was that sexy smile of yours that got me into this position in the first place! exclaimed Eddie.

"What's the point of being married to a consultant if you cant get him to induce you early?" Eddie mumbled.

"You should enjoy the rest of this pregnancy, it's probably going to be your last one. Enjoy the miracle that is pregnancy and childbirth" replied Luc while he handed her an appointment card made out in his name.

"What's this?" asked Eddie looking at the card.

"I'm going to have the snip" explained Luc wincing as he said it. "You said you didnt want any more children after this one didnt you?" he asked.

"Well, yes but I didnt think you'd you know..." Eddie replied.

"What, I'm not going to have a sister?" cried Elise who had been listening to their conversation. "That's not fair, Liam's getting a brother soon, I want a sister" demanded Elise.

Luc bend down and picked up Elise. "Princess, you can't always get everything you want. Mummy and daddy have to do what's best for the whole family. Besides, you know mummy and daddy cant just decide to have a girl and it will happen, you know we cant fix it so that mummy has a baby girl" Luc explained.

"Why can't you fix it? You fixed my dolly last week, you can fix anything daddy!" replied Elise.

"I'm afraid I can't princess. Sorry" replied Luc. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. Elise frowned and looked disappointed. Luc put Elise down and she walked back over to Sacha who was showing Liam some magic tricks.

"You handled that really well" Eddie said. "Maybe you could leave the operation until after junior here arrives, we'll think about it some more then" continued Eddie while stroking her bump.

"Eddie, I dont think we can afford any more children. Dont you think three will be enough?" replied Luc.

"Well, we might be able to afford one more if this is what I think it is" replied Eddie pulling a letter out of her handbag. She handed the letter to Luc. He opened the letter and read it.

"Wow! It's from the drug company. Elisilor has been approved for sale in the U.S. It just got FDA approval!" exclaimed Luc excitedly.

Luc pulled Eddie into a big hug.

"I'm so proud of you, I knew all those years of reseach would come to something" replied Eddie as she hugged Luc tight.

"What are you two so excited about?" asked Sacha coming over to them.

"Our drug just got approved for sale in the U.S." replied Luc.

"Wow, that's amazing! We're going to be rich!" exclaimed Sacha. "Now I can get that boat I've always wanted" he continued.

"Sacha, we're not going to make that much money, we'll only get a few cents per vial sold" explained Luc.

"Yes, but still it's something" replied Sacha calming down.

"If we're going to be rich, can I get a pony?" asked Elise.

"If Elise is getting a pony, then I want a tank like uncle Liam drove" replied Liam.

Eddie and Luc looked at each other bemused.

"We'll think about it, maybe when you're older" replied Eddie smiling.

"Who told you your uncle Liam drove a tank?" Luc asked Liam.

"I saw it on telly, all army men drive tanks dont they?" replied Liam.

"I dont think your uncle Liam drove a tank, but I think he drove one of those armoured landrovers" replied Luc.

"Did he really? They're cool too" replied Liam smiling.

Luc looked at the clock, his shift was over. "I'm finished work. How about we get some ice-cream and go to the playground in the park on the way home?" he asked them.

"Yeeessss" replied Elise and Liam in unison. They ran off towards the AAU doors.

"Ok, but only if I'm allowed to just sit on a bench and watch" replied Eddie. Luc put his arm around Eddie and they walked off in the direction of the locker room so that Luc could get changed.

Five weeks later Eddie gave birth to baby James, named after her father. Just over twelve months later baby Rose arrived, she was named after Luc's grandmother. For a few years afterwards Elise really believed that her dad really could fix anything, her illusion was only spoiled when she started studying biology in school.

Elisilor went on to become one of the top ten selling drugs in the world making Luc and his research colleagues Sacha and Frieda quite a substantial amount of money. They were proud that all of their years of hard work had paid off and had saved so many lives. Luc often reflected on how working for the army had brought so much pain and so much joy into his life.

The End.

Thank you all for reading this tale! E. :)


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